Challenging the Darkness
by A.S. Leif
Summary: Sequel to PtDLKN!complete! It's the time after Harry's 6th year, & it will be his deadiest yet. Voldemort's gathered hundreds of followers, & this year, Harry will find friends, challenge foes, make sacrifices, and meet his destiny head on.
1. The Summer Begins

**CHAPTER ONE**

"Harry?" Sirius called from the living room. "Dumbledore needs to talk to you for a second."

Harry put his book aside and got up. It was only the first day of summer vacation, what could Dumbledore want already? "Coming!" Harry called back, then left the study. He was dressed in muggle clothing, jeans, a white t-shirt, and his leather jacket, and wored his hair pulled back. He slid down the banister of the stairwell and joegged to the living room, where Dumbledore's head rested in the fireplace.

Harry had told Dumbleodre about his Hideaway via a letter delivered by Hedwig, and then Remus had secretly connected the fireplace to the floo network. "Yes Professor?" Harry said, sitting in a chair.

"Good afternoon Harry," Dumbleodre greeted, "I just received a letter from the head goblin at Gringotts. Apparently, your parents had an addition to their will, and as the executor of it, I am now asking you come to Hogwarts so that we may fully activate it."

Harry blinked. A second will? "Alright Sir, I'll be right over; just give me a few minutes."

"Very good, I will see you soon then Harry." Dumbledore's head vanished with a slight _pop_.

Harry found Remus and Sirius and explained to them what Dumbledore had just said; neither of them had known about the Potters' second will. Harry got his two wands then apperated to Hogwarts by bending the wards; something the founders had taught him. He appeared in front of the gargoyle that was the entrance to Dumbledore's office. "Er—lemon drop?" The gargoyle didn't budge. With a small sigh, Harry began to list every sweet he knew, both muggle and magical. When at last he said "Canary Cream," the gargoyle leapt aside.

Dumbledore was talking to Fawkes when Harry entered. "hello Harry." He said.

"Hello Professor." Harry replied.

"Lemon drop?"

"No thanks."

Dumbledore nodded and popped one of the sweets into his own mouth. "Well, the addition to your parents' will is quite simple. It merely states that you are the owner of three plots of land. One is in Ireland and it consists of two hundred aces of land, mainly grasslands. The second is a small cottage in the United States, near a town called 'Denver.' The last is a few miles from Britain; it is a castle. I believe it is somewhat damaged and slightly smaller than Hogwarts, if the reports I was given were accurate." Dumbledore picked something up and offered it to Harry; he took it.

It was a gold ring with a ruby in the center. A sword and wand crossed over a many-flamed sun was depicted with copper wire in the center of the ruby. "That ring connects you to all three estates, it is the Potter family heirloom. By thinking of which ever estate you wish to go to, the ring will deliver you there; much like a portkey."

"Have you tried it?" Harry asked.

Dumbledore shook his head. "No, but many old families had such things, and I remember your father using it to escape from school many times."

Harry slipped the ring onto the middle finger of his left hand and felt a flood of comforting warmth spread through him; it quickly receded. "If I haven't been there before, can I go?" he asked.

"Not until you have seen it, which is why I took the liberty of creating a portkey to take us." Dumbledore then offered Harry a top hat; Harry touched it and felt a jerk behind his navel. Harry found himself and Dumbledore standing in the middle of a lush, grassy field. There was a slight breeze, a few clouds, and Harry felt very relaxed. "This is the first estate." Dumbledore said, then offered him the top hat once more. This time they were transported to a pine forest in front of a cabin. Harry approached the door and cautiously opened it. His ring gave off a brief, small burst of light and the door opened further without a sound.

There was no dust or cobwebs, and it was only one floor. The kitchen was at the very back of the cabin, as was the dining room—both were done in muggle fashion. There was also a living room, a study, a bedroom, and a bathroom—all were simple, but elegant. The many cabinets gave Harry an idea.

After he finished exploring, Harry and Dumbledore portkeyed to the castle that Harry now owned. It was on the edge of a large lake, a little ways from a forest, and about four times the size of The Hideaway. There were six towers, two of which had collapsed. The entire thing was made of grey stone with dark blue roofs. Some of the windows were shattered and more than a few of the doors were hanging precariously from only one hinge or so. Harry entered, and found several storerooms filled with rugs, brooms, potions, and non-perishable food items. _I'm not sure I'll be trusting those,_ Harry thought wryly, and then continued down. There were dungeons, a few passageways that had once been secret, and astronomy room, several bedrooms and bathrooms, an empty study, and even an indoor quidditch pitch. With the exception of the empty, sullen atmosphere, Harry thought it was pretty nice. Again, he had an idea for its improvement.

Dumbledore tapped Harry on the shoulder. "I'm afraid I must leave, I have a meeting soon. I trust you will be alright on your own?"

"Yes Sir," Harry replied, while thinking, _wow, big change from _last_ summer—couldn't be left on my own for ten minutes…_

"I will seen you soon then Harry, have a good day." Dumbledore nodded, and portkeyed away.

Harry first used his elemental abilities to reconstruct the two fallen towers, and the few places where the roof had fallen in. Then, he called up some wind and a bit of water from the lake to clean the entire castle. The grime and dust he transported to the front hall, where he banished it.

Harry began to examine the castle closer, and his ring vibrated whenever he passed certain places. When he pressed the ring to them, be it a statue, bookcase, wall, or empty frame, there was a shift and a passage appeared. In two hours, Harry found a total of seven passageways in addition to the five that had already been revealed, then fixed.

His exploration finished, Harry began to furnish the castle. A few of the bedrooms he combined into an infirmary, and three of them he turned into lounges; each decorated in a different style. He was sure to put a fireplace on each of the six floors, as well as fix any broken windows he came across.

Once every single room was cleaned, furnished, and double-checked, Harry went back to The Hideaway for lunch, to tell Remus and Sirius about his new estates, and to rest—it was a lot of work.

**Coming Up:**

Headquarters Revealed

Unwanted Realizations

**Then:**

New Members


	2. Headquarters

**Chapter 2**

Harry woke the next morning to a sharp, gleeful pain in his head. That could only mean bad news. He hurriedly put on his dragon hide vest and boots, a robe, and strapped on his two wand holsters as well as his dagger. "Moony?" he called, jogging down the stairs. "Padfoot?" He couldn't find them, but he _did_ find Hedwig flying anxiously through the first floor of the house. "What is it girl?" he asked; she landed on his shoulder and in a burst of flames they both disappeared.

Yells, shouts, and the crackle of flames assaulted Harry's ears. Smoke and sweat greeted him, along with the sight of the Dark Mark hovering above Number 12 Grimmauld Place. Harry's mind flooded with questions. How could this happen? How did Voldemort find Headquarters? Had someone betrayed the Order? Was that even possible? Was anyone hurt? When did the fight start?

Harry forced them all away and instead appraised the situation. He could see Snape, Moony, Tonks, Splikvin, Mad-Eye, and a disguised Sirius on his left, attacking Death Eaters. Dumbledore, McGonagall, Bill, Charlie, and Dung were warding dementors away with their lion, dolphin, chimera, griffin, and camel patroni. About seven aurors, including Kingsley, were dousing the flames on the building.

Harry quickly took action. First he placed a cloaking spell on himself, and then called the water from the clouds above. He shoved the water down onto the flames, but kept some of the flames alive, hovering in the air. The leftover flames he sent after the new Death Eaters that arrived only seconds later. Leaving them to their own devices, Harry shot out his own patronous and it charged after the dementors. Snape faltered as it ran past him and was nearly hexed—Harry had fired a shield to cover the potions master. "Tallon!" Sirius exclaimed, not taking his eyes off his attackers. "What are you doing here?"

Harry fired a stunner and murmured into Padfoot's ear, "Helping." With that, he ducked and transformed into a werewolf, then leapt at an unsuspecting Death Eater. Since the building was no longer a danger, it was nineteen to twenty Death Eaters and eight dementors. Harry lunged left and right, dodging attacks, while giving the Order members a chance to stun the Death Eaters, and dealing out his own. Someone finally cancelled his spell and it got harder to evade the curses they threw. He called his other three forms and became a chimera once more. Now he shielded the others while they fought back. "It's Potter," one of the Death Eaters snarled.

In reply, Harry roared and lunged for the speaker. He pinned the man and knocked him out, then moved to his next victim. Through the chaos and din of the fight, Harry saw a red-eyed wizard appear, wand pointed at Sirius. "_Avada-" _Voldemort began.

Harry rushed back into human form and shouted. "_Sanctus!_" as Voldemort finished the incantation of the Killing Curse.

Sparks flew as the curse hit the shield. Harry watched anxiously as Sirius gained a surprised expression, much like the one he'd had when falling through the veil—this time he remained among the living. Voldemort met Harry's eyes and vanished, along with the dementors and remaining followers.

Harry sank to his knees with relief. "T-Tallon?" Sirius' voice was strained as he kneeled beside his godson.

Harry looked up, "Yeah?" he asked, voice shaking slightly.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah. Just—a bit tired. The spell—well, spells—fire, the water; they took a lot outta me. What about you?" Sirius didn't get the chance to answer because several aurors Harry didn't know came over.

"What _was_ that?" one asked.

"You're Harry Potter?"

"Was that _him_?"

"Questions later!" Splikvin snapped from a few feet away, one of the actually jumped. "Aren't you supposed to be following post-battle procedures?" They nodded, blushing. "Then get to it!" she roared, two of them jumped this time and they scurried off to do what she had reminded them to do.

"Scarier than Mad-Eye." Sirius teased her wearily, she smiled.

"How did the Fideleus Charm break?" Harry asked as Remus and Sirius helped him to stand.

"I don't know," Padfoot replied, "but at least the old hag is gone."

Harry attempted a smile, but it wasn't great—he was really tire. Splikvin noticed this. "You overworked yourself," she said gruffly, "Not intelligent. It worked, but it wasn't intelligent." He only nodded in reply.

"We must depart," Dumbledore told the group, "in order to avoid too many questions. The Order is still not an official group."

"Where should we meet?" Bill asked.

"Could use… the castle." Harry croaked, "Fixed it up…yesterday."

Dumbledore smiled. "Thank you for offering Harry; it will do quite nicely." Hedwig landed on Snape's shoulder, startling him. She sang a few brief notes, and then the entire group disappeared.

Harry led them to the main doors, which were over twenty feet tall and made of iron with silver handles. He touched one of them with his ring and they opened soundlessly. Harry sank into one of the plush couches that were in the main entrance, Sirius and Remus also sat next to him. The other Order members all sat as well.

Splikvin raised an eyebrow as she looked around. "Well _I'm _surprised; the entire place isn't blaring with Gryffindor colors. Why, you even have green." Several others chuckled, but Harry grinned weakly and shrugged.

"You fixed the castle quite quickly Harry," Dumbledore noted, glancing out one of the large windows to look at the tower nearby.

Again, Harry shrugged. "Didn't want dust and broken stone everywhere."

"How much was broken?" inquired Splikvin.

He scratched his head. "Two towers were half gone, some of the doors were broken, the windows were shattered some, and a couple roofs had collapsed; I think that's all."

"_'All'?_" She repeated, rolling her eyes, but left it at that when Remus looked at her.

"Does anyone know how he found Headquarters?" Tonks asked. It was silent for a few moments.

"I have a theory." Dumbledore answered. "I believe the charm was cancelled out of confusion. When we first established Grimmauld Place as Headquarters, Sirius gave me permission to be secret keeper. When Remus became the owner, he did the same. Now that Sirius has returned, the building itself did not know to whom it belonged and cancelled the charm. Voldemort simply had to track a member of the Order to Headquarters and wait for the opportune moments to strike; when most of us were there."

"Does he know about this place?" asked Moody.

"Not to my knowledge. Harry had only inherited it yesterday."

"Then why don't you use it?" Harry suggested, "I don't really plan to live here, and people can come and go when they need. There's a fireplace on every floor."

Dumbledore smiled. "Thank you Harry, do I have your permission to place the Fideleus Charm on it, just in case?"

By the way he'd said 'permission', Harry knew he was talking about trust. Harry nodded. "You do."

The members of the Order stood, forming a circle with Dumbledore standing in the center. The headmaster began to trace runes in the air while he said something in Latin. Harry identified the names of all the members, as well as his own and the Grangers'. Harry also noticed that Splikvin had not joined the circle, but had stepped back, staring at the floor.

When Dumbledore finished writing their names, he wrote runes for protection, secrecy, and trust, then beaconed to Harry. He stepped forward, knowing that since he was the owner, he was needed to complete the Charm. He raised a hand without being told and said, "I, Harry James Potter, do entrust you to place the Fideleus Charm upon my castle, and offer you the post of secret keeper."

Dumbledore put his hand against Harry's and replied, "I, AlbusBrian WulfricDumbledore, do accept your permission, your trust, and the role of storing this place's location a secret within my soul." A bright flare of golden light erupted, and Harry _felt_ the charm take place. It rushed through him to Dumbledore, and then sped throughout the castle; touching every stone, door, and window. The magic faded, settling into place like a cat on a pillow. Harry returned to the couch, tired again.

Dumbledore turned to Splikvin as she sat. "My apologies for not including you Selena, but in truth, I was not sure what to write as your name."

She nodded. "Understandable Headmaster."

Sirius' stomach growled, easing the slight tension. Harry laughed, "Food's a good idea. Want to go home?"

Sirius grinned. "There's no food here, is there?" Harry shook his head. "Then home sounds good." Tonks' stomach growled.

"Anyone else hungry?" Harry asked with a laugh. Several people nodded and Harry looked at Hedwig. She chirped and all of them vanished to The Hideaway.

Since no one but Sirius, Remus, and the Weasleys had been there before, many of them had no idea where they were. "Well, this is our home." Harry said, "The kitchen's down the hall on the left, so's the dining room. If you're not hungry, you can look around if you want, I'll be right back, I've got to check on something." Tonks, Sirius, Dung, Bill, and Charlie all left to eat, Hedwig perched on the stairs, and Harry left the others to their own devices while he jogged downstairs. Salazar was in a frame down there, and Harry told him about the Order members being there, then drank a pepper-up potion. As he came back up, he saw Hedwig nudging Snape and Splikvin into the study. _Why there?_ Harry wondered, and followed. He then saw Hedwig nudging them over to the side where the family tree hung. "What is the matter with you, bird?" Snape growled, "I don't want to look at Potter's family. _Uh-oh,_ Harry thought as Splikvin raised an eyebrow.

"She's not going to give you an option it seems."

"Fine," Snape grumbled, and looked.

_Why?_ Harry cried silently, _He's going to kill me!_ Harry dashed silently down the stairs and to the kitchen. As he entered, Splikvin's laugh and Snape's yell of "WHAT IN THE NAME OF MERLIN!" rang through the house.

"What was _that_?" Sirius asked, standing up in alarm.

Harry winced. "Hedwig made them look at the family tree." Sirius laughed.

"Oh dear." Remus said as Splikvin entered.

"How long, might I ask, have you know?" she inquired, looking at Harry with amusement.

"Known what?" Tonks asked.

Harry blushed, "Since the beginning of last summer… I didn't tell anybody—I figured he wouldn't thank me for it."

She grinned. "Quite right; he's not exactly thankful towards Hedwig at the moment either."

"Neither am I." Harry mumbled, debating whether or not he should go and rescue Hedwig...

**Coming Up:**

New Members

Stone Hold

**Then:**

Summer School

_(A/N: I know this chapter is shorter than the chapters of my previous stories, but if I connect them all together, there might not be as many chapters. On the other hand, it means I should be able to post them faster. A.S.Leif)_

**Review Response: (I will be doing these when there is a good question)**

jamesyankee7: _Harry could beat Godric and Helga because he was able to use Parsloz magic, along with his animagus forms. He couldn't beat Splikvin because she told him not to use those things._ _Thank you for bringing that up. _(Response to review of ch.21 in Power the Dark Lord Knows Not)


	3. Down to Buisness

**Chapter Three**

_(A/N: As a notice, I didn't remember Dumbledore's middle name, so that's why I put in new ones. My apologies for the inconvenience. A.S.Leif)_

That evening, all of the Order gathered at the new Headquarters. Word had spread of Harry's relation to Snape, and the boy-who-lived was currently seated as far away from his third cousin as humanlypossible. Splikvin had thoughtthe entire thingincredibly amusing, but didn't tell her twin that, and was seated between Snape and Remus.

Harry shared a couch with Sirius and Moody, and Ron and Hermione shared a couch nearby. The twins, Ginny, and Neville were absent, but Hagrid was present. "Any idea what this is about?" Harry asked Sirius; his godfather shrugged in response. _That's not much of an answer,_ Harry thought, then Dumbledore entered.

"As of today, this will be the new Headquarters for the Order," he began, all conversations stopped. "We will be thinking of a new, faster, and less detectable way for us all to get here, rather than flooing. Now, there is not much business tonight, but there is the question of allowing three sixth years into our ranks." Dumbledore looked at the three Gryffindors, his eyes were serious. "Ms. Granger has turned seventeen, so she is allowed to join freely if she wishes; Mr. Weasley has the same option. However, Mr. Potter must have both Sirius Black's and Remus Lupin's approval if he wishes to join. I normally would not offer, but seeing as how you are the owner of this place and therefore have free reign, I cannot stop you from attending, or listening in on, the meetings." The Potions master snorted. "The overall decision lies with you three: wait; join now; or do not join."

Ron immediately said, "I'll join." Hermione bit her lip thoughtfully then nodded.

Harry looked at his godfather and guardian. "If you want to." Sirius said in answer to the unasked question. Harry nodded then looked at Remus.

"If you promised to be careful, and listen to our advice, that includes _all_ Order members." The werewolf said.

"I promise."

"Then go ahead."

Harry turned to Dumbledore, "I want to join."

"Very well, let's begin with Mr. Weasley." The other Order members got up and stood in a line, with Dumbledore at one end and Fawkes, who had appeared minutes before the meeting began, at the other. A scroll and red-gold quill appeared in Dumbledore's hands. "Ronald Weasley, by signing this, you agree to protect others, fight those of darkness, and give your all to preserve this world. Do you so swear?"

Ron nodded. "I swear."

"Then sign, and become a member of the Order of the Phoenix." Ron took the quill added his name to the already signatured parchment. Dumbledore shook Ron's hand. "Merlin blesses." Ron went down the line and shook each person's hand. When he reached his mother, she hugged him with misty eyes. At the end of the line, Fawkes hovered above Ron's head and allowed a tear to fall. "Welcome to our ranks." Dumbledore said. Ron smiled and took his place between Tonks and Fawkes.

Hermione stepped up and Dumbledore repeated his small speech. She responded with a firm, "I swear it." Hermione went down the line as Ron had and received a tear from Fawkes. Then it was Harry's turn.

"Harry Potter, by signing this with your guardians' consent, you agree to protect others, fight those of darkness, and give your all to protect this world. Do you so swear?"

"I do." Harry replied, and signed. Sirius grinned when he shook Harry's hand, and Remus smiled; Snape let go quickest of all. When Fawkes leaked a tear, Harry felt a cool wave flow through him. "Welcome to our ranks." Dumbledore said; before anyone could move he added, "One moment. I believe there is one other to invite." With a twinkle in his eyes he called, "Selena? Might you come back in for a moment?" Harry stared; he hadn't even seen her leave.

Splikvin came hesitantly back into the room. "Yes Headmaster?"

"We were wondering if you would like to join the Order." Dumbledore told her gently.

She blinked. "If you wish."

"It is your choice, my dear."

Splikvin looked out the window at the starlit night. "I will." Dumbledore smiled and repeated what he'd told the other three and she signed the paper he held. She gave the quill back to Dumbledore and went down the line of handshakes. Reaching Ron, she drawled, "My own students beat me to it."

Harry, Sirius, and Remus returned to The Hideaway late that night and Harry fell asleep as soon as he reached his bed.

The next day, Harry went to Diagon Alley and bought more potion ingredients, his idea for the cottage in the States was beginning to become more solid. His plan was to turn it into an emergency station, in case anyone got in trouble and needed a place to go. Of course, how he planned to allow people to travel halfway across the world was another matter which he was thinking about.

He also picked up a copy of the Daily Prophet and read through it. Rita Skeeter hadn't written anything of late, which was most likely for the better. However, there was an article about a Death Eater sighting near the ruins of Azkaban. _I wonder if there's a new prison being built,_ Harry thought, and decided to ask Moony and Padfoot as he got ready to head home.

"Not yet," Sirius told him after he'd posed the question.

"There aren't any other prisons that need to be held," Remus added, "There are a few in the Ministry holding cells, but there's still a few more. So there isn't a need for a new prison just yet."

"How long will it take to make one?" Harry asked.

"A few weeks maybe," Sirius replied with a shrug.

"But we might not have that much time!" objected Harry.

"Optimistic aren't you?" Remus teased subtly, "It can't be helped."

A spark flew in Harry's mind. "Maybe it can," he murmured.

"What?"

"Maybe it can be helped." Harry repeated, and then stood. "I'll be back later; I need to go check on something." With a grin, he disappeared.

"Oh dear…" Remus sighed.

Harry had teleported to the empty 200 acres he owned, and then transformed into a phoenix. He flew high above the estate, seeing what it all looked like. Most of it was grassy hills, but Harry came across a piece of swampland that would fit his idea quite nicely. Harry perched on a boulder and transformed back to human. He closed his eyes and sent his elemental magic out, looking for stone. Only twenty feet down, the granite practically sang against his magic. _Good_, Harry thought, sensing more than enough to suit his needs.

Harry cast a net of magic out and pulled up on the stone. It thrust out of the ground and began to shape itself to Harry's will. The lower level came first. He formed passages, closets, and plumbing. The second level had cells and a few secret passageways, a long with an office and more plumbing. The third and fourth floors were similar to the ground floor, and had passages as well. Harry shifted the granite to make windows in the offices.

Finished with the main building, Harry pulled up on the granite to form a huge wall over a hundred feet tall, with stone spikes at the top, as sharp as any dragon's claw. He created larger doors on the north wall, and four stone watchtowers at each corner. Done with the structure, Harry transformed into a phoenix and flew over to the entrance to go over it with spells.

He conjured cots and toilets in each cell, but made sure that there was no way they'd be moved and used in any other way than the ones they were meant for. He also put a charm on the cell door so that there were what appeared to be mirrors from the inside, but were really windows on the outside; he also put an unbreakable charm on all of them. In the offices he created desks and chairs, as well as in the watchtowers. Unsure about what kinds of protection spells were put on a prison, he left it at that and used the ring to travel to the new Headquarters.

He found Dumbledore in the main room, along with Remus, Tonks, Hagrid, and Splikvin. Not wanting to intrude on their conversation, he plopped onto a couch—he was tired again, _very_ tired, and the muscles in his arms and shoulders hurt.

"Did you need something Harry?" Dumbledore asked.

"No Sir, I just wanted to show you something."

"Possibly why you left this morning?" Moony asked with a smiled.

Harry smiled back, "Yeah, actually."

"Well, what are you waiting for? Take use!" Tonks exclaimed.

"Alright; it's at the empty lot." He told Dumbledore. The headmaster nodded then created a portkey for the others.

"It's about fifty miles west of here," Harry said once they'd arrived. Dumbledore nodded and they portkeyed again; this time appearing ten feet from the black granite prison.

Tonks whistled. "Wow."

"I figured, with Azkaban gone, maybe I could make a new one." Harry said, rubbing his eyes.

Splikvin was staring wide-eyed at the prison. "Potter—you used your elemental abilities, didn't you?"

"Yeah."

"For how long?"

"Umm—maybe four, five hours?"

She whirled to face him. "_Four hours?_ What the hell did you think you were doing?" she shouted.

Hagrid stepped between them. "Don't you be yellin' at Harry," he growled while the others stared, "He didn't do nothin' wrong."

Splikvin closed her eyes and turned away. After pacing for a few minutes, she was calm, in appearance at least. "My apologies, I overreacted slightly." Tonks snorted, earning a very Snape-like glare. Splikvin's voice grew harsher. "And I say _slightly_ because he could have injured himself permanently; worst case scenario: he could have paralyzed himself." Harry's jaw dropped, and she began to pace again. "I did not tell him this before, which was a mistake on my part. Harry, what you do is real. Your elemental magic is your _soul_. When you cast it out, you cast your soul out; which is why I told you to never cast use it all. You learned to gather wind with your soul. If the net you created with your magic broke, you would be just as if you had been kissed by a dementor—but it would have been much more painful." She shook her head. "A friend of mine used too much of her magic doing a great working, alas, she was not as fortunate as you. Give me your arm." Harry extended it, and she felt the muscle on it. "Your arms are tired, yes?" he nodded. "Most likely because to move the rock, your magic needed some sort of physical strength to connect." She released his arm and looked at him seriously. "If you ever plan to do something of this—_magnitude_ again, I strongly advise you to notify me first."

Harry nodded. "I will."

Splikvin nodded and turned to look at the prison. "I will admit though, this will definitely work if the Ministry approves."

Dumbledore smiled, "I already have permission from the Ministers to put wards on any building I deem suitable to replace Azkaban. Shall we begin?"

So together they began to construct the wards. Since he was still tired, Harry could only tell them about the building itself. They put up anti-apperation/dissaperation wards, a ward that would prevent portkeys from being used, dark magic detectors, an emergency lock down ward, and they created frames on each floor so that the founder would be able to travel there if necessary. Harry then showed them the secret passageways he'd built. Some of them could only be used when the person had a small animagus form, like Harry's cobra; others they created passwords for.

Once they finished, it was well past sundown and they portkeyed out, since Dumbledore had been keyed into the wards they were able to do so, and informed Arthur Weasley about the new prison. The Minister informed the other Minister and they agreed to have the criminals housed in the Ministry holding cell to be transported to the new prison in a few days.

Harry was glad when he went to bed that he wouldn't have to work at the new prison: Shadow Hold was not going to be a comfortable place.

**Coming Up:**

Housemates

Summer School

**Then:**

Break-in the Prison


	4. Summer School

**Chapter Four**

When Harry woke up the next morning he did his usual routine. Salazar appeared in the kitchen frame while Harry was eating breakfast. "Dumbledore is at Headquarters," the founder said, "he wants to know if you would allow the Weasleys, Grangers, and Neville Longbottom to stay there for the rest of the summer; along with two houseelves: Dobby and Winky."

Harry smiled, "Yeah, that's no problem. There's room enough. Are the portraits working alright?"

Salazar nodded, "Very well." With that he disappeared, most likely to relay Harry's response to Dumbledore. Once he finished eating, Harry teleported to Headquarters and managed to arrive just as the others were getting there. Dobby slammed into his legs with a hug, and smiled up at Harry with watery eyes. Harry laughed and greeted Winky. She looked better, having changed into clean clothing and she curtsied to Harry politely.

"Hiya Harry!" Neville called, "Long time no see!"

Harry chuckled, "Tell me about it. Has everything been alright?"

He nodded. "Gran decided to travel for the summer, but I didn't want to, so she called Dumbledore and he said you might let me stay at your place. It's really big here."

Harry shrugged, "I just found out about it the first day of break."

"Ah, well, do you mind if I go unpack?"

"Sure, I hope you like your stay." Harry left to find Ron and Hermione. Ginny steered him to the third floor, which was where his two friends were. "Hey guys." He greeted.

"Hey mate." Ron replied.

"Hi Harry," Hermione said.

"Any plans for the summer?" he asked.

"Not really," answered Ron, "Besides homework; I don't think I have anything else to do."

"Maybe we could do practical studies." Hermione suggested, "Like practice defense."

"Like we did with the DA?" Harry asked.

"Somewhat. But I was thinking more along the lines of practicing for real-case scenarios. Maybe Professor Lupin will help."

Harry nodded. "Let's go ask him, we can get Neville to do it with us if he wants to." So the three of them left, found Neville, who agreed to the idea, and traveled down to the main room and found Remus and told him their idea.

Remus scratched his chin thoughtfully. "It's a good idea, I'm sure I could plan something. Meet me in the dueling room on the third floor in half an hour, sound good?"

"Yup," replied Harry, "See you there." Remus then left and they spent the empty time playing chess, gobstones, and exploding snap. Once the time was up, they went ot the dueling room Remus mentioned. There, they found Tonk, Mad-Eye, and Sirius waiting. "Remus'll be right back." Sirius told them with a grin. "We're going to be helping you guys train." At that moment, they heard another voice out in the hall.

"For Merlin's sake Remus, I don't' have time for this," Splikvin said exasperatedly.

"You aren't doing anything else," Remus said.

"Yes I am! I'm working on a potion that-"

"Does not require your attention for another three hours," Snape finished as the three of them walked in. As Splikvin opened her mouth, he spoke again in a bored voice. "And the batch of burn-revention potion needs to cool, as does the dreamless sleep potion; the confusion cure and truth serum both need to settle."

She scowled. "You're mocking me."

"Not at all; merely repeating what you told me."

Splikvin rolled her eyes and saw that the others were watching her amusedly. "I thought the school year was over," she grumbled.

"Yes, but you're still needed to teach," Remus replied cheerfully, "both of you are. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville want to branch out in their defense and offense abilities, and asked for additional training."

"Then why us?" Snape growled, "You have three others here already."

"Oh come _on_ Snapes," Sirius drawled. "You two knew more curses than our defense teacher in our _first_ year at Hogwarts; remember? You proved it too." Hermione clapped a hand to her mouth in shock, drawing their attention.

"We were given permission, Ms. Granger," Splikvin told her dryly, "Just like you were in your final exam."

"Yeah, but she didn't knock you out for over a week," Tonks commented cheerfully; Hermione gasped causing the two to roll their eyes.

"There were two of us," Splikvin retorted.

"Why you two became potions teachers is beyond me," Moody said gruffly, "Could've made a fair pair of aurors." They snorted.

"Not likely." Snape replied.

"Enough chat, let's start already!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Good idea," Remus agreed. "We'll start off by finding out what you already know. To do that, we'll have a series of mini-duels with each of you."

"Us—against each of you?" Neville asked, paling somewhat.

Remus nodded. "Don't worry, you'll be fine and we'll duel _fairly_." He glanced at the two former Slytherins, who didn't respond. "Who wants to go first?"

"I'll go." Harry volunteered, noticing his friends' discomfort.

"Alright, you'll duel each of us one at a time in a regular duel. However, anything you can do, do; alright?" Harry nodded. "Good, I'll face you first."

So Harry and Remus went onto the dueling platform and bowed to each other. On the count of three, they began. Harry started out with a few stunners of various difficulties, wanting to see how Remus would react. His guardian mainly stuck to defense, so Harry decided to take advantage of that. After blocking a full-body bind, Harry quietly shot a reflector shield on the ceiling. Once Remus fired off a hex, Harry fired a stunner at the ceiling, pretending that his aim had been thrown off by the oncoming curse. His stunner rebounded and hit Remus on his shoulder. Harry picked up Remus' wand, then freed him. "Well done Harry," Remus said while his friends clapped. "Sirius, your turn."

Padfoot grinned as Harry faced him. Once again, they started on the count of three. The duel was a lot like the previous one, but Sirius attacked more often than Remus had, and he had more power behind his spells, while Remus had been quick and accurate. Harry could tell that his godfather was holding back, and defeated him by hitting Sirius with a stinging hex followed by a full-body bind. "Good job Tallon," Padfoot said, and Tonks came up.

As clumsy as she was in everyday life, Tonks was more than good, she was hard. She never let her guard down and tricked Harry more than once into thinking he had the upper hand. After ten minutes she had him stunned then he faced off with Moody.

Apparently, paranoia had served Mad-Eye well, because nothing Harry did phased the retired auror. Moody never used anything outside stunners and disarming spells, but all of them packed quite a punch and Harry found himself dodging more than magically blocking them. Once Moody released him from an arm-striking stunner, Harry found himself facing Snape. They bowed to each other and then began.

Snape was unbelievably quick and didn't stick to stunners alone. A barrage of stinging hexes, jelly-legs curses, body-binds, and freexing curses met Harry. He was limited to defense because of how annoyingly fast Snape fired. Harry could have sworn Snape was enjoying this as he hit Harry with a rather sharp stinging hex. After landing only two stinging hexes of his own on Snape, Harry was blown backwards by _expelliarmus._

He rose to his feet and found his own wand pointed at him. He acknowledged Snape's win with a nod, and then the potions master gave Harry's wand back to him. With a small smirk, Snape left the platform, allowing Splikvin to come up.

Harry got the crick out of his neck then they bowed and began. He shot out multiple stunners, which Splikvin sidestepped and ducked with ease. She kept her wand at her side, never raising it to block even Harry's Parsloz curses. Frustrated, Harry kept his face blank and put more power behind his spells. Between the short second of two spells, Splikvin whipped her wand in Harry's direction as she whispered in Parsletongue, "_Expelliarmus._"

The curse hit Harry like a sledgehammer in his gut. He clutched his wand as he was blown off the platform and slammed into the wall. He felt the cushioning charm someone had placed on the wall take affect as he halted. Coughing, Harry was helped to his feet by Sirius. "You acted too hastily," Splikvin told him, then got off the platform as well.

Hermione went up next and managed to beat Remus and Tonks using several Transfiguration spells. However, she lost quickly to the others. Ron ended up doing the same, but he used his animagus forms to his advantage. Harry'd smiled when Ron pinned Moony as a crocodile. Neville was victorious against Remus, Sirius and Tonks, and lasted a while against Moody, but lost his nerve against Splikvin and Snape.

"I think that's enough for today," Remus said, "We'll work on your technique for most of the time, then perhaps move on to teaching you to use your gifts to your advantage, and the other idea you mentioned. Sound good?"

"Yes Professor," Neville answered.

Remus smiled, "I recon you four are going to need something for headaches, and Harry something for you back."

Ron, feeling his head throb, grumbled, "How'd you know?"

Sirius grinned, "We've all dueled each other before. Trust me, I know what you're feeling like." Splikvin and Moody chuckled.

**Coming Up:**

Shadow Hold's Residents

The Mark

**Then:**

First Order Meeting

IcyTears: _I'm afraid I'm not sure what you mean by 'joining'. _


	5. Marks and Curses

**Chapter 5**

The following day, Harry went out with Sirius, who was wearing the ring, to get a new perch for Hedwig, for whenever she had a burning day. As they walked down Diagon Alley, Harry noticed that a few people there had their cloak hoods up; which was more than slightly unusual on a bright, clear day like today.

He opened his mouth slightly to notify Sirius when a red bolt of magic streaked by his head. "Death Eaters," Harry murmured to Sirius as they got their wands out.

"Let's give 'em hell, shall we?" Sirius asked with a wolfish grin. Harry nodded and the two opened fire as the innocent witches and wizards stampeded away, while others dissaperated.

Harry conjured up a stone wall to block an oncoming hex and threw a stunner back. After a few moments only Harry, Sirius, and seven Death Eaters remained in the alley. Harry changed his sight so that he could see what sort of shields the Death Eaters had on them.

A small part of his mind noted that the Death Eaters weren't as strong as Sirius, Remus, Tonks, Moody, Snape, and Splikvin were as he blocked several curses. He stunned three more Death Eaters while Sirius knocked out the last two with a bombardment of hexes.

Harry scanned the area and saw a few more hiding around a corner. He signaled to Padfoot, who nodded. Sirius cast a reflector shield and Harry took aim then fired a blasting hex. The hex bounced off the shield and hit the ground in front of the Death Eaters' feet. Harry and Sirius continued the process until the five Death Eaters were trapped at the back of the alley.

Harry placed cloaking charms on Padfoot and himself and then they slipped around the corner, unnoticed by the wary, dark warlocks. Harry fired a Parsloz stunner while Sirius attacked their shields with blasting curses. Their defenses fell quickly, allowing Harry to accio their wands while Sirius stunned them.

"Eleven scum bags in half an hour," Sirius remarked with a smirk, "Not bad at all. Let's take 'em to Shadow Hold, break the place in."

Harry smiled, "Good idea."

Quickly they bound the Death Eaters, then Harry used his ring to transport them all to the new prison. They stored the new prisoners in separate cells and wrote brief reports stating the time, place, and date they had been detained. Once finished, they reported to Dumbledore.

The headmaster heard them out then asked if they were sure that their attackers had been Death Eaters.

"We are Sir," Harry replied, "We checked, and they all had the Dark Mark."

"The Mark alone does not make them Death Eaters," Dumbledore said gravely.

"Mind, they _did_ attack us first," Sirius replied.

Dumbledore nodded. "True. I will inform the Ministers of the new residents, you should let Poppy do a check up."

Sirius rolled his eyes, causing Dumbledore to smile. "We didn't even get hit _once_. They weren't really good at all."

"Very well, thank you for reporting so quickly." As the two got up to leave, he added, "There will be a meeting tomorrow night, will you be there?"

"Yes Sir," Harry answered for them both. Dumbledore nodded, and they left to actually get Hedwig a perch.

Harry was studying Arthrimacy with Rowena, who was out of her portrait for the day, when Salazar entered. "Harry, I need you to do something for me."

Harry looked at the wizard who had taught him everything about potions and Parsloz magic there was to know last summer, "Sure, what do you need?"

Salazar began to pace, hands clasped lightly behind him. "For a while now I have been working on a potion that will make the drinker immune to a certain spell. I wanted you to cast the spell on me so that I can test it again."

"What spell?"

"One I made a long time ago, which I regret."

"Which is?" Harry prodded, uncertainty forming in his gut.

Salazar looked at him. "The Cruciatus Curse."

Harry's jaw dropped. "But I can't do that to _you_!" he objected, "It's wrong! You've helped me a lot; I can't use _that_ on you! What if the potion doesn't work?"

"I am almost certain it will," said Salazar firmly. "Please cast it."

Harry swallowed hard. "If you're sure…"

"I am."

Harry got out his wand, unwillingly remembering Bellatrix's words in the Department of Mysteries: _You've got to _want_ it Potter,_'

_I want this to work,_ Harry thought over and over. _I want it to work._ "Ready?" he croaked, Salazar nodded calmly. Harry pointed his wand at Salazar and whispered, "_Crucio._"

Nothing happened.

Slytherin looked very pleased. "Very good, I could feel the curse hit, but I did not feel the effect. Rowena, would you be so kind as to test it?"

She nodded and said, "_Crucio_." Again, Salazar remained unharmed. "You've done well, Salazar." Rowena told him.

Salazar nodded. "Thank you. I believe this will come in handy for others in more danger than I."

The Order had just finished dinner when Hedwig went into an alarmed behavior. Harry too, felt something was wrong. "What is it?" Ron asked, watching Hedwig as he sang a distressed song.

"I don't know, but I don't like it." Harry answered.

"Voldemort?" Sirius asked, causing others to wince.

Harry shook his head, "I don't think so. Hedwig, do you know?" she nodded. "Can you help?" Another nod; then she disappeared in flames.

While some of the Order assembled in the main room, they waited anxiously for Hedwig to return.

When she did come back, she wasn't alone. She was perched on a kneeling wizard's shoulder. He was slumped over, clutching his arm as his pale blonde hair tumbled into his face.

Snape shot out of his chair. "Draco!" The head Slytherin rushed over and helped Draco to lie down.

"S-Severus?" he mumbled, "That you?"

"Yes Draco, it's me. What happened?"

"M-Mark." In a flash, they understood. Harry grabbed some pillows and gave them to Snape, who in turn eased Draco's head onto them.

"Is there anything we can do?" Harry asked.

"Not unless there is a sleeping draught nearby," Snape answered.

"Be right back," Harry answered, and teleported home. He grabbed a sleeping potion from the dungeon then teleported back to Headquarters. "Here."

Snape looked suspiciously at the bottle, and then took it. He gave it to the younger wizard in small gulps until the bottle was empty. "I'll 'xplain…later." Draco murmured before falling asleep.

He was moved onto an empty couch, where Snape sat beside him.

"I can't believe Lucius actually did that to Draco…" Snape growled after a while.

"Did what?" Ron asked.

"Allow him to take the Dark Mark." Snape answered gruffly.

"But he wasn't going to…" Harry murmured.

Snape looked at him sharply. "What?"

"Draco wasn't going to take the Mark," Harry repeated, "Last year, he saw an initiation—he hated it. He told me that he didn't want to do it—that was when we declared a truce."

"I thought you weren't going to tell anybody about the truce," Draco's raspy but sarcastic voice commented; his eyes slowly opened.

Harry grinned, "It's not like anybody _doesn't_ know now."

The Slytherin chuckled, "True enough." He sat up with some difficulty, then looked around the room. "Where am I?"

"Don't really know the name of it," Harry said truthfully, "But Hedwig brought you."

Draco nodded, "She found me at home. I think I should explain."

"Not until you've eaten," Snape said firmly, "You won't be up to much for a while—annoying as it is." So Draco was brought dinner by Winky and he ate. Once he finished to Snape's satisfaction, he began to speak to the remaining Order members: Splikvin, Snape, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Dumbledore, Remus, McGonagall, Dung, and Sirius.

"When I went home for the summer, I knew that my birthday had passed and that Lucius would take me to the Dark Lord to be initiated. What Harry said is true: I don't want the Mark. However, I figured I could help more if I did take it. The Dark Lord heard about the Order of the Phoenix during the first war and he was sure that the organization was working against him now as well. I knew this because of the several meetings Lucius had taken me to.

"I also found out that Sever—Professor Snape was spying on the Dark Lord. The rumors that the Dark Lord had changed the Mark so that he could track Death Eaters were false. He attacked Hogwarts so that he could find out if Professor Snape was really a spy or not. I took the Mark tonight because I figured that I could help the Order of the Phoenix more as a spy than if I just turned tail and hid like a coward. Lucius has no idea of my plan."

There was silence for a moment. "Why do you call your father Lucius?" Snape asked quietly.

Draco looked away in disgust. "He is not my father. No _father_ uses the Cruciatus on his own child." Harry noticed that Splikvin flinched, though he noticed that Snape had not reacted.

Dumbledore stood, "Draco, it may or may not surprise you, but I am the founder of the Order of the Phoenix—this is our Headquarters. We will discuss your intentions tomorrow; in the meanwhile, I suggest you get some rest."

"Yes Headmaster." Draco replied and the other Order members filtered out of the room, talking quietly with one another.

"Did anything go wrong when you received it?" Snape asked Draco.

"No," he answered, "Why?"

"Receiving the Mark can be very dangerous. If interfered with, the process can be close to, if not, fatal."

_Wow, _Harry thought,_ you've got to be brave to do it. Makes them look like Gryffindors._ That last thought made Harry want to smile, 'Draco Malfoy' and 'Severus Snape' were the last two names he'd ever of thought associating with Gryffindor traits.

**Coming Up:**

The Matter of Trust

Disaster

**Then:**

The Door that Never Opened


	6. Trusting in Fate & Each Other

**Chapter 6**

Harry remained at Headquarters that night, mainly talking with Draco and Sirius. Apparently, Draco had seen Wormtail before and therefore knew that Sirius was innocent.

When he woke up the next morning, Dobby brought him something to eat. The house elf was clearly nervous about being near Draco, and when Dobby left, Draco said he didn't blame him.

Throughout the day, Harry worked with Remus on creating medallions that could be used by the wearer to transport to four places: Hogwarts (which was possible due to the link Harry had between himself and the castle), Headquarters, Stone Hold, and the 'emergency cabin' in the states. Harry'd finally gotten around to stocking a large quantity of potions and healing supplies in the cabin, along with non-perishable food items.

They made one medallion for each member, as well as a few extras, and designed them so that the owner could create a word to activate the teleportation, as well as contact the other Order members. Finding no other way to do it, they connected each medallion to Harry's ring, which allowed them to teleport to the three estates.

They finished a little after lunch, which was when the Order gathered for the delayed meeting. There wasn't much to speak of, other than the medallions, which Remus presented, the Cruciatus Potion, which Harry explained Salazar had been thinking up, and Draco's last-night appearance and whether or not he should be trusted.

The Weasleys, besides Ron (Who remained neutral), Ms. Figg, Dung, and Tonks were on the side of letting Draco report, but not join the Order. Hermione, McGonagall, Remus, Moody, Kingsley, and Sirius were for letting join the Order. Snape flat out didn't want Draco taking any part, saying that the younger wizard could easily be killed; trusted, but killed. Splikvin didn't voice an opinion, and neither did Harry.

He wasn't sure what to think really. He didn't want anyone to be in that kind of danger, including Draco, but he didn't want to leave Draco no options either. It all boiled down to trust in the end. He realized this just as he realized that Snape and Tonks were yelling at each other.

"Just because his last name is Malfoy does not mean he isn't trustworthy!" hissed Snape.

"We don't have any proof that he is!" Tonks rumbled back, "Only your word as his godfather." They continued to shout, no one doing a thing to stop them.

Harry felt slight breezes as it went on and could tell that his face was coloring with annoyance. "YOU TRUST SIRIUS DON'T YOU?" he yelled, freezing their argument.

He calmed the breezes down, now that he had their attention, and relaxed slightly.

"What do you mean?" asked Tonks, "Of course I trust him."

"Why?" Harry demanded, ignoring the shocked look his godfather had. "There's no proof that he's innocent. There's no proof but my word that he didn't do the things he's convicted of doing. You haven't even _seen_ Pettigrew, never.

"There's no proof that Draco's on our side, no proof but words." He chose his words carefully, painfully aware that everyone was staring at him. "Draco and I never got along, not from the moment we met in Madame Malkin's before first year. But last year, we became friends. Tell me, did any of you ever expect _that_?

"Let me asked you something else. When I was Sorted, the Hat almost put me in Slytherin—if I hadn't asked it to not place me there, if I'd actually been in Slytherin house to this day, would you still trust me? There's no telling if I'd still be the same person." There were several shocked looks, Harry went on. "I'm not going to tell Draco or you what to do—it's not my right. But I trust him, and he'll always be welcome here—or at my home—just like all of my friends are, whether you trust him or not. That's your decision, and yours alone." To add on to his point, Harry exited the meeting room and returned downstairs to where Draco was. They didn't talk, since the Slytherin was sleeping again. Instead, Harry practiced Occlumency, sorting through his newest memories and putting them into place. Once done with that, he spoke with the elements; listening for them beyond the castle walls when needed.

Upon opening his eyes, Harry found Draco awake and watching him with mild curiosity. "What were you doing?" he asked.

"Occlumency," Harry replied. Whether or not Draco would ask about it, Harry wouldn't know because the Order then came into the room.

Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling with a mixture of their normal cheerfulness and a new seriousness. "Draco, you are being given the opportunity to join the Order of the Phoenix. However, if you join, you do not have to spy, you may help in other ways if you wish."

Draco looked at Snape. "It is entirely your choice." The potions master said in answer to the unasked question.

The younger Slytherin thought about it, then nodded. "I will join and spy for the Order." He said firmly.

So once again the members of the Order lined up and Fawkes appeared with the parchment and quill, which he gave to Dumbledore.

"Draco Malfoy, by signing this, you agree to protect others, fight those of darkness, and give your all to preserve this world. Do you so swear?"

"That I do." Draco replied solemnly.

"Then sign, and become a member of the Order of the Phoenix." Draco took the quill and signed his name then began to shake hands with the others. Harry smiled as he shook Draco's hand. Fawkes dropped a tear on Draco's head; "Welcome to our ranks." Dumbledore said with a small smile.

A little while after, Harry and the others went up to the dueling room for their second lesson, Draco also came with them.

Draco dueled each of them first, defeated only by Moody, Snape, and Splikvin. Then Remus told them that they would work on speed and accuracy. Dummies appeared in the room, and they were controlled by the six teachers. The five students were told to fire stunner as rapidly as they could, at least on every five seconds. If they missed a shot, Moody, Snape, or Splikvin rounded on them. If they made the slightest mistake, dropped their guard, or didn't hit the dummies straight in the chest, Moody, Snape, or Splikvin rounded on them.

Harry could see Tonks biting her lip to keep her laughter in, which was clear on her red face. Once they'd finally gotten the hang of rapidly firing a simple '_stupefy_', Remus told them to switch to _expelliarmus._ Then the process of shooting, sometimes missing, and being rounded on, continued. They switched back and forth between the two spells for an hour, which was basically until they felt that their arms were going to fall off. "I bet you can't wait 'til next time eh?" Sirius teased, rubbing his hands together.

Harry groaned, causing his friends to laugh.

The next morning brought the first day of the second week of summer break. Remembering one of the first places he'd gone to last summer, Harry teleported from The Hideaway to Diagon Alley. As he walked down the street towards Blurnof's Eyestore, his scare began to prickle. _Wonderful_, Harry thought as he heard the crack of apperating warlocks.

Getting out his wand, Harry ducked around a corner just as the Death Eaters began to spread chaos into the shops. They split up, swarming into the stores to be greeted by screams and shouts. Harry took the phoenix pendent he wore around his neck and whispered onto it, "Headquarters."

Its surface clouded then cleared to reveal the main room and Dumbledore. "Death Eaters in Diagon Alley." Harry told him quietly, "About twenty or so is my guess."

Dumbledore nodded, worry in his eyes. "Be careful; wait until someone else arrives to move." Harry nodded and cut the connection. Peeking out, Harry placed an invisibility charm on himself then fired stunner through a store window at five Death Eaters. He ducked before they could see where the spells had come from.

As he creeped towards the next shop, something wet was doused over him. "_Finitae Incantantum!_" A Death Eater yelled, pointing at the water-lined form of Harry.

His charm ended and Harry said, "_Expelliarmus!_" sending the Death Eater back ten feet without his wand. Harry caught it and snapped it in two, stunned the dark wizard as he heard more people apperate onto the scene, this time from the Order and the Ministry.

Harry thought he saw Sirius, but was swept up in a mob of fleeing workers and customers. Harry slammed two Death Eaters with wind, careful not to gather too much, and then stunned them. He took their wands, snapped them, then found himself surrounded by dark robed figures who'd just apperated there.

Among them was the pale-skinned Dark Lord. "Voldemort," Harry spat in greeting.

He smiled, "Harry." A sharp pain burst in Harry's head, forcing him to his knees as Order members tried to get to him. Voldemort smiled cruelly as his Death Eaters held them off. "Tell me the prophecy and I will make this painless."

"No," Harry half-snarled, half-gasped.

"Very well," Voldemort raised his wand, "_Serpentic Mortisas Karmoz,_" he then hissed in Parsletongue, "_Eternal service, or fatal failure._" and pointed at Harry. As the curse came towards him, time seemed to slow; then, Harry was knocked brutally out of the way and sent tumbling into the Death Eaters' broken circle—it was Splikvin.

The curse slammed into her, causing her to drop to her knees as well and bite her lip in pain. Voldemort lowered his wand with a mild amount of surprise on his face. "Selena, isn't it?" he asked softly, with both malice and intrigue. She glared furiously at him, clenching her teeth as her throat tensed; it was answer enough. "Your father trained you well, you would have been a credit to him; pity."

"_Banshada!_" she hissed in Parsletongue and slashed her wand in Voldemort's direction. With a sickening crack, Voldemort and the Death Eaters were thrown backwards—then vanished.

Splikvin fell backwards, clutching her left forearm. The Order members swarmed over. "You okay Tallon?" Remus asked with concern.

Harry nodded, rubbing his scar—the pain had left at last.

"Go to Headquarters," Dumbledore's voice said from behind, "We'll be needing Poppy." With nods, the Order teleported away.

Harry saw Snape lifting his twin off the ground, as pale as a ghost, before he too teleported to the Headquarters Infirmary.

Soon the beds were filled and Madame Pomfrey arrived. Harry, because of a dizziness that wouldn't cease, occupied a bed next to Splikvin's.

She was shivering horribly as Snape set her on the bed. She still kept silent as Mme. Pomfrey saw to others. Splikvin continued to hold onto her left forearm as sweat began to roll down her face. Snape put a hand on her brow, only to jerk it back. "B-bit…h-hotter th-than usual…h-huh?" she asked in a raspy voice, attempting a smile.

"Don't talk," Snape said. It was strange to seem the irritable potions master worried, in Harry's opinion. Closing his eyes, he wondered what had happened.

"You shouldn't have done that." Snape told Splikvin quietly, "He could have lived with the Mark." Harry stiffened, was that what Voldemort had been about to give him? He remembered Draco telling him how hard he'd screamed when receiving it, how much it had burned. Harry also remembered what Snape had told Draco: '_Receiving the Mark can be very dangerous. If interfered with, it can be close to, if not, fatal._' What if Splikvin died?

"N-no, he w-wouldn't of." At these words, Harry fought the urge to stare at the DADA professor.

"What do you mean?" Snape asked, "Of course he could have."

"No, he wouldn't of." Splikvin repeated firmly. "Lily died f-for a _reason_ Sev, to keep him…alive. Just like I left, to keep _you_ alive. The d-dark magic would've f-fought with the g-good magic L-Lily gave 'im. It would've t-torn his soul. I might live, h-he wouldn't of."

Harry opened his eyes just in time to see Splikvin loose consciousness and Sevvie (how'd _he_ get here, Harry thought) jump onto Snape's lap, meowing. Snape pet the cat unknowingly, his face still pale. _What've I done_? Harry yelled silently; he raged at himself in his mind, angry for all the hurt he kept causing to people who were trying to help him. _It will stop,_ he promised, _I will stop it._ Slowly, he fell asleep, but not before he saw Moony come over to Splikvin's bed, his face almost as pale as Snape's.

**Coming Up:**

The Door that Never Opened

Wormtail

**Then:**

Shadows

_(A/N: So, is the Defense Against the Dark Arts position really cursed? Will Dumbledore need to find yet another professor to fill that post? How will others react? And what lies behind the mysterious door in The Hideaway dungeons?)_

**Review Response:**

**jamesyankee7**: _You brought up a very good point; thank you for reminding me. Harry seems weaker than his friends because he's not completely applying himself. If he were to go out in full elemental-animagus-Parsloz force, he'd beat them in seconds. But because he'd gotten into the habit of hiding his abilities last summer, he's doing it again instinctively. You'll notice that in the fights he gets into with Death Eaters, he's a lot tougher than in the practice room. _**(response to review of ch.4)**


	7. GB & The Scrying Room

**Chapter 7**

When Harry woke that evening, he hoped it had all been a dream. But one look at the still figure of Snape and the shivering form of Splikvin, told him that it wasn't.

Sevvie, sensing Harry's gaze, jumped up on his bed and began to hiss at him. Only when Hedwig appeared and chased the young cat away did the Infirmary return to its silence; Snape hadn't so much as moved. However, Harry could tell he was awake because he would occasionally blink and also when he suddenly grabbed his forearm. _I hope Draco's alright,_ Harry thought, _Hopefully Voldemort's not too angry._ Slowly, Harry fell into an unpeaceful sleep once more.

The morning dawned grey and bleak, with a drizzle of rain splattering against the window panes; unusual weather for summer. Gloom hung in the air like a thick blanket, wrapping around everything that lived. It seemed muggy in the castle, even with the windows opened a crack and breezes drifting through, though they only brought a more depressing feeling.

Snape still had not moved and Harry guessed that he hadn't slept either. Feeling worse, Harry silently climbed out of bed to see who else was there. Sirius was sleeping in a bed a few spaces away, with a small splint on his wrist. Dung was also there, sporting a few boils that had yet to be removed. Other than them and Splikvin, no one else from the Order was there for injury. Ron had fallen asleep in his chair, as had Remus and Tonks.

Harry teleported to The Hideaway and changed cloths. He put on his dragon hide vest and pulled the legs of his jeans over his boots. After holstering both wands and the dagger, Harry went downstairs to the dungeon and stood in front of the mysterious door which had refused to open since he'd first arrived at Black Manor.

Carefully, he observed the iron door and the border around it. Changing the lenses so that he could see spells, Harry saw a faint, red-green mist over the door. About to change his sight to normal, Harry stopped.

The mist began to move, separating into the two colors and twisting into two shapes. One, out of the red mist, was shaped like a coil, or spiral. The second, out of the green mist, was shaped like a wing. Slowly, the two merged then separated into words:

_A hill full,_

_A hole full,_

_You cannot catch a bowl full._

Harry groaned inwardly, it was a riddle. The misty words then faded, forming a shapeless veil over the door once more. It then began the process of separating, shaping, and melting over again.

Meanwhile, Harry pondered the riddle. What was something that you could see, but not contain? It couldn't be air, or water. It had to be something not quite solid, but not quite liquid either. Something…in between.

Going back to the years he'd spent in muggle schools, Harry thought about what he'd learned in science class. Rocks could change type, but that wasn't the answer. Fire had different stages of burning, but that wasn't it either. He thought of something lighter, cooler, but_ there_. Were you could see it, but not really hold it.

Harry's eyes were caught by the transforming mist before him. It swirled easily; in sight, but not in grasp. As impossible to be caught as light, but as visible as light itself. "Mist," he said aloud and, to a bit of his surprise, Harry heard the invisible lock on the door click, and the door creak open.

Cautiously, Harry pushed the door further open and stepped inside. As soon as he entered, torches flared into life, revealing a room full of strange objects. On the wall opposite him, Harry saw a brass plaque which read: 'The Room of Scrying,' and beneath that, was a still portrait of Grindelwald Black the first, born almost over two-thousand years ago—a little after the founders died.

With a stunned expression, Harry realized that this was most likely an ancestor of the dark wizard Grindelwald whom Dumbledore had defeated, and the mysterious creator of the Chimera Room: G.B. "So that wasn't your only trick," Harry murmured then began to look around at the contents of the room.

There was a small bookshelf containing book on the magic of Scrying, and some journals of notes Grindelwald had taken on the subject. On the desk were two bowls that contained pearly-clear water, as well as some old quills and ink that had long since been dried. Besides a battered chair, the only other thing was a full-length mirror that's surface was made- of all things- mist. There wasn't even a wooden backing when Harry looked around on the opposite side, yet the mist remained within the copper frame, swirling gently within itself. Something about it reminded Harry of the two-way mirror Sirius had given him, as well as the Mirror of Erised.

As he looked closer, Harry found a picture in its depths, slowly gaining both size and color. Then, Harry heard a voice- it was Wormtail's. "Y-yes M'Lord. I'll go there right away."

The image was of the main hall Harry had been first taken to last November; Voldemort and Pettigrew were alone.

"Do not fail me in this Wormtail," Voldemort said, "Now go. I will need the map of the castle passages soon."

Wormtail bowed, "Yes M'Lord." He dissaperated with a slight pop, and that was the last thing Harry saw before the mist covered both the picture and the voices once more.

_He's making a map of the secret passageways into Hogwarts,_ Harry thought, _maybe if I can find him, stop him, and turn him in. Then Sirius won't have to hide, he can really be my godfather, and Remus can be my god—uncle? Or is he also my godfather?_Harry shook his head with a smirk, titles didn't matter. "Thank you," he told the portrait of G.B. Swiftly, Harry left the room and began to plan.

The first thing he did was look at the Marauders' Map. He kept watching it while getting his cloak. After a few minutes, he was rewarded. The name Peter Pettigrew appeared in the one-eyed witch passageway. Harry wiped the map blank, threw on the invisibility cloak, and teleported to the statue.

After transforming into a panther, Harry could hear the shuffling of a man's feet on the opposite side. He waited patiently until the statue moved and a rat came out. He stayed put until Wormtail was fully out and the passage shut, then he growled. Wormtail jumped and looked around wildly. Harry froze for a few moments and waited for the rat to calm down. He crouched, and lunged for his parents' traitor, throwing off the invisibility cloak in the process.

Easily he pinned the squealing rat and picked him up in his mouth. As tempting as it was to crush him, a dead rat would do Sirius no good, so Harry forced himself to keep Peter alive as he put the cloak back on with his tail and prowled to Dumbledore's office. Surprisingly, the gargoyle leapt aside without even hearing the password and Harry was able to climb the stairs until he reached the door. He knocked on it with his paw. "Come in." Dumbledore's voice called.

Harry turned the door handle with a fair amount of difficulty then entered and shed the cloak.

"Might I ask that you show me who I am talking to?" Dumbledore inquired with a raised eyebrow. Unable to speak, and unwilling to release his squeaking prisoner, Harry called all his forms until he was a chimera. "Ah, thank you Harry." Harry nodded and returned to panther shape. "I assume that is Peter?" Harry nodded and Dumbledore got out his wand, "I imagine he does not taste wonderful; you may drop him if you wish."

Harry chuckled, the loud rumbling purr caused Pettigrew to tremble and Harry laid the rat on a chair.

Before he could so much as twitch a whisker, Dumbledore had stunned the rat and Harry became human. "I found him coming out of a passage that led to Hogwarts, near the one-eyed with statue."

"I see, not one I am familiar with. Well, I am sure the Ministers would like to know about him, shall I drop him off? Or you?"

"Could you?" Harry asked, "It's not that I don't have time, I just—want to avoid questions."

Dumbledore smiled, "And the press?" Coloring slightly, Harry nodded. "I will drop him off, and who knows, Sirius might be cleared by morning." Harry smiled.

"Thanks Professor."

"You're welcome Harry."

As Harry put a hand on the door, he asked one more question, "H-has Professor Splikvin gotten any better?"

The headmaster's eyes grew sad, he seemed older than ever. "Unfortunately, no. Neither has Severus."

Harry's shoulders slumped and he left, pocketing his cloak before teleporting to the infirmary at Headquarters.

Splikvin was still shuddering and sweating, Snape was till silent, rigid, and awake. He ignored the two house elves trying to give him food, and the small cat meowing beside him. When Madam Pomfrey spoke to him, he didn't answer.

Harry now felt worse than before, something he hadn't thought possible, and left.

**Coming Up:**

Cursed or No?

Freedom and Fights

**Then:**

News


	8. Battles of Two Types

**Chapter 8**

Harry ate a quiet meal with his friends at Headquarters the next morning, and then they all followed Remus to the dueling room for their lesson. He hasn't budged," Salazar was telling Dumbledore from his portrait.

The headmaster sighed, "I now fear for both of them."

"You must do _something!_" Mme. Pomfrey protested, "I can't help her, and now I can't help him _either_! I now he's been stubborn about treatments before, but—this is _ridiculous!_ Two days without sleeping _or_ eating?"

"I know Poppy. I agree, something must be done; but I am not ready to give up on them right now."

Harry realized he was falling behind and jogged to catch up. The lesson was again based on accuracy and speed, but instead it was with the full-body bind and the flippendo jinx: _'ivertae stashio_.' The main thing that changed was that only Moody, Sirius, Tonks, and Remus were there; the result was a rather quiet lesson.

Once it ended, Hedwig arrived with the day's issue of the Daily Prophet and dropped it in front of Sirius.

Once he picked it up, Sirius gasped and showed the others the front cover. A black and white photograph of him, and another of Peter, were below a bold headline: **Sirius Black: Innocent!**

"Read it!" Ron urged.

Sirius nodded and did so. "'Yesterday evening, the Ministry received a visit from a wizard (who shall remain anonymous) who had in his custody, the supposedly dead, Peter Pettigrew.

"'Upon immediate investigation, with the Ministry-approved use of Veritaserum, Pettigrew revealed that he was an unregistered animagus, a servant of the Dark Lord, the murderer of thirteen innocent muggles, and that he had been James and Lily Potter's secret keeper.

"'No one had known about the switch except for the Potters, Mr. Black, and Mr. Pettigrew. And, unfortunately, Sirius Black never got the chance to prove his innocence—for he was sentenced to life in Azkaban _without_ a trial by Barty Crouch Sr.

"'We know that we cannot give Mr. Black all the years he was in Azkaban,' Minister Bones said, 'or the years he's spent on the run. It was terribly wrong of us, and we are deeply sorry for all the trouble and terrible things we've caused him.'

"'Minister Weasley also had something to say. 'From this day, all crimes against Sirius Avitus Black are cleared; all records will be destroyed, not a mark against him will be made. We know that paperwork is not the only thing that matters so, Mr.Black, we ask that if you've gotten the chance to read this, please come out of hiding, so that we may finalize the matter of your guardianship to your godson.'

"'Who Mr. Black's godson is, we have yet to find out. Until then, know that Sirius Black in no murderer, nor is he a traitor; he is, in fact, an innocent convict.'" Sirius finished reading and starred at the paper, numb. Harry smiled and began to clap, Ron grinned and followed suit. Hermione threw her arms around Sirius and gave hima hug, then began to applaude as well.

Sloly, a smile appeared on Sirius' face, making it look less gaunt than usual. He looked at Harry—now they really were family.

There was an Order meeting that afternoon, to discuss Sirius' freedom, and the previous Death Eater meeting. Unfortunately, Draco was called that very day, so his report was shorter than usual.

Somehow, Dumbledore had gotten Snape down out of the Infirmary and to the meeting room. To Harry, Snape looked like a dead man walking. Once the main topic was over, Bill mentioned Splikvin, and was quickly hushed by his mother—luckily, Snape hadn't heard.

Dumbledore made Snape stay with the Order for lunch, but Harry noticed that he didn't touch a thing. "Professor," he said quietly, "you should eat something."

Snape didn't answer, but then Madame Pomfry added to the conversation. "The boy's right Severus, you need to eat. We don't want to loose both of you." The entire table fell silent.

Snape's eyes flashed, he shot a look of pure venom at the nurse. "Selena is _not_ going to die!" he hissed, gripping the table so that his knuckles turned whiter.

"Severus, she doesn't look well," Mme. Pomfrey said sadly, with a hint of pity in her eyes,"she hasn't improved at all; I don't think-"

"I don't give a _damn_ what you think!" he snarled, jumping out of his chair to glare Poppy, "I will die myself before I let her!" There was a tense silence, Mme. Pomfrey was clearly frightened.

Then, a weak, raspy voice said, "Well that ain't fair." All heads turned towards the doorway.

Splikvin, dressed in jeans and a loose white shirt over he rnow skinny frame, was leaning tiredly against the doorway, holding herself up. "If I can't die, neither can you." She croaked with a crooked smile. She walked over and gave Snape a hug, "And don't swear at her—it's bad for your health." Snape colored, returning the hug.

Dumbledore smiled, "We are glad you are feeling better."

Sheheld onto the chair, keeping herself up with Snape's help,and looked at Dumbledore, "Thanks—what've I missed? You weren't yelling loud enough for me to hear everything." Snape colored further.

"I'm officially innocent," Sirius told her.

Splikvin smiled, "Good, now you can actually get a job." Several of them laughed.

"You've been ill for almost three days," Remus added, clearly relieved. She nodded, unconsciously rubbing her forearm.

"You alright?" Kingsley asked, noticing this.

She blinked, "What? Oh—yeah, It's just…sore is all." She stopped rubbing and looked at Snape with a lopsided grin. "Now we're definitely twins."

Though she acted carefree about it while the others chuckled, Harry could tell that she wasn't really as easy-going about the Mark—then again, who was?

Harry flew outside for a bit on his broom, playing tag with Ron, Neville, and the twins. Sirius left with Dumbledore, Remus, and Mr. Weasley to the Ministry so his freedom could be finalized.

Then, just as Harry got Ron, his pendent vibrated. He halted his broom. "Harry here," he said, lifting it out from under his shirt.

It was Mr. Weasley,a worried look in his gaze."Harry, Death Eaters are attacking the Ministry, they've blocked the back and front exits. We need you to get the other members and break through, please hurry!"

"Be there pronto," Harry promised and ended the connection. "Hey! Trouble at the Ministry!" he called to the others, "Death Eaters!"

They immediately flew back to Headquarters, where Harry told the other members what the situation was.

"They probably knew Sirius would choose today to go there," Bill said, "Let's go."

Splikvin started to get up from her seat, but Snape stopped her. "You're staying here," he said firmly.

"Why?" she demanded.

"You're not healthy enough."

She rolled her eyes, "I can walk, can't I?"

"That is not enough; you must stay here."

Grudgingly, she sat back down. "Fine," she grumbled. Snape nodded, then they all dissaperated or teleported away.

There had to be at least fifty Death Eaters in the main lobby of the Ministry, half of them standing guard. Quickly, the nine Order members began to stun and/or disarm the dark warlocks. It took them a minute and nine stunned to realize that they were under attack, and then the fight began. Harry found himself extremely thankful that he'd been drilled in rapid stunner firing; it came out as a big help. Apparently, Voldemort hadn't taken the time to see how efficient his followers at dueling, because Harry found that many of them were bad. They were bad, but there were enough of them to make up for it. Harry ended up reviving Hermione after she got hit with a black-out hex, and shielding Fred from an arm-locker curse. Eventually, the barrier of Death Eaters was broken, and those who'd been fighting on the other side came through. Harry glimpsed Remus and Sirius fighting side by side before he was approached by a Death Eater.

Worried, pale grey eyes met his from behind the mask: it was Draco. _Good idea,_ Harry thought, and began to 'duel' his friend. This was the easiest way to not make it look suspicious on Draco's side, but also so no one from the Order or Ministry landed him in prison.

While dueling Draco, Harry also made sure the others weren't in serious trouble. Ron and Hermione were fine, as was Remus—but then Harry saw Padfoot fall to his knees, though he hadn't been touched by any curse. Draco followed his gaze, but before Harry moved an inch, they saw Splikvin appear and run up to Sirius; Harry refocused on his duel with Draco.

Occasionally, he caught glimpses of Splikvin helping Sirius up and out of the fray, while Remus guarded them. Sirius then touched his pendent and disappeared, Splikvin took his place in the battle.

Then, suddenly, all of the Death Eaters dissaperated from the building, leaving more than several of their number behind, stunned, knocked out, or incapable of movement. In total, they'd captured fifteen Death Eaters, and by the looks of it, lost just as many Ministry workers. "I thought you were supposed to stay at Headquarters," Remus said to Splikvin as Harry walked over to check on him.

Splikvin grinned, "I did stay, just not for the entire time."

"How Slytherin of you." Remus commented dryly.

"Just don't tell Sev."

"Too late for that," the potions master growled. "What happened to your sleeve?" he asked.

She looked at her left arm: her robe sleeve from the elbow down was gone. "It was torn obviously," she drawled, "though _how_ remains the question."

Harry looked around to see who all was there; he'd thought he'd recognized some of the voices.

"Oy, Harry! Over here!" Ron called. Turning around, Harry saw Blaise, Cho, and Susan standing beside Ron and Hermione.

"Wow, why're you guys here?" he asked, walking over.

"Ironically enough, we all came to get our apperation licenses," Blaise replied, "I have been wanting to get mine since Christmas."

Harry smiled, "Man, I have to wait until August first to get mine." Then, there was a large amount of flashing lights and the shouted questions of reporters. "Oh no…" Harry groaned quietly. There were at least twenty of them, and practically all of the Order had already left, except for Remus, Snape, Splikvin, Mr. Weasley, Kingsley, Moody, and Tonks.

The last three were busy taking the remaining Death Eaters to Shadow Hold and removing the fallen from the lobby with the help of other Ministry workers and Aurors, so the reporters left them alone. A large number had grouped around Mr. Weasely, but about five had decided to pick on the remaining three Order members. Harry grimaced when he saw that one of the reporters was Rita Skeeter, with her acid-green quick-quotes-quill at hand.

"Hermione," Harry murmured, "Does the threat still stand?"

She bit her lip, "I'm not sure. I haven't talked to her at all recently, and I can't do it now."

"Then we'd better go help," Ron sighed. They nodded.

"Evil woman," Neville growled as the walked past unsuspiciously.

Although they were trying 'not to be seen', Rita Skeeter caught one glimpse of them and exclaimed, "_Harry_ dear!" causing him to cringe inwardly and the reporters to shout out.

"So Harry, why were you here?" Rita asked.

"My friends were testing for their apperation license," he answered, "I came with them." Harry noticed with relief that a few of the reporters left to listen to Mr. Weasely. Splikvin began to leave but Rita stopped her by reaching out and grasping her forearm. "You teach at Hogwarts, correct?"

Splikvin calmly wrenched her arm free, "I do."

Rita's eyes caught sight of the Dark Mark. "Oh my...and what position?"

"Defense Against the Dark Arts," she answered stiffly, "why do you ask?"

"Oh, I was just curious which posts Dumbledore gives to—_darker_ wizards and witches," she said, glancing at the other two professors.

The students growled in warning and anger, snarling at the reporter.

"Professor Splikvin is the best Defense teacher since Professor Lupin!" Cho shouted.

"And Professor Snape is the best potions teacher out there!" Blaise said wrathfully.

"Professor Snape, Splikvin and Lupin are no darker than Professor Dumbledore!" Neville said firmly, glaring at her like—of all things—a Slytherin; the others nodded.

"You keep those kinds of opinions to yourself lady," Susan told her with scowl, "Or next time you come to Hogwarts, I think there might be an accident." If anyone was surprised by a Hufflepuff making a threat, they didn't show it, only nodded in agreement once more.

Rita looked positively harassed; quickly she smoothed her face to calm, she was now the only reporter left. "I see. Well, tell me—howdid youknow of the attack?" she asked the professors, "I daresay you don't look like you still need an apperation license."

Splikvin took a menacing step forward, her tone reasonable and polite, her expression anything but. "Listen, Miss Skeeter, you are really starting to _bug_ me, understand?"

Rita stiffened, Splikvin's words couldn't of been coincidence. "Perfectly."

"Good, and I suggest you get a quill which does not lie." Harry glanced at the parchment and saw: _She stepped forward, wand out, words forming a curse_—

_Pity,_ Harry thought, _it's a good idea._ Rita scowled at Splikvin, but was distracted when the quill caught on fire. She dropped it with a shriek, and stamped on it until it was out—and a lump of black ashes. The three professors looked at Harry with raised eyebrows; he shrugged with an all too innocent look on his face. Splikvin's mouth twitched in a grin.

_(A/N: I'm glad no one wanted Splikvin to die, she is an amusing character. Again, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and the next one should be up tomorrow or the next day. A.S.Leif)_

**Coming Up:**

More Relatives?

Questions

**Then:**

Training

**Review Response:**

**BlurryFuture:** _Good question: where IS Alex? Heh heh, won't find just yet. Mind, it IS chapter seven but it has only been, oh, a few days or so. ;) You'll have to wait a little longer…_


	9. Decisions

**Chapter 9**

For the rest of the day, Harry did stay at the Ministry building to watch his friends get their apperation licenses. He was somewhat surprised by the steady pace which the Ministry was recuperating at. The workers went back to their normal routine, aurors came and went, notices were put up, the rooms were cleaned, and the fallen were mourned.

"Just like it was eighteen years ago," Harry heard one of the guards say. Harry bid his friends good-bye once they finished and teleported to The Hideaway, wondering if Sirius was alright.

He went to the Infirmary first, but, thankfully, no one was in there; so then he went to the main living room on the first floor. His godfather was sitting at a table across from Splikvin, with Remus next to him. There was a document of some sort in front of them.

Harry was to far away from them to hear what Sirius said, but he did see Splikvin's jaw drop. "Tell me you're kidding," she groaned.

Sirius shook his head. "Nope."

"Did you know?" Moony asked. "After all, you were her closest friend."

Splikvin fingered the bridge of her nose, thinking. "I remember Lily mentioning it in a letter she sent my muggle post, when she first found out she was having a kid but…I didn't think she was _serious_ about it."

"Serious about what?" Harry asked, making his presence known.

"Never mind-" Splikvin began.

"You've got another godparent." Remus said with a crooked grin.

Now it was Harry's turn to have his jaw drop. He looked at Splikvin, "Is it you?"

"I _told_ you it was a bad idea to tell him," she muttered, glaring at Remus, who was undaunted.

"But…does that make Snape my god-_uncle_?" Harry asked in a strained voice.

Remus laughed, seeing the horrified look on Harry's face. "No—no it doesn't."

"Don't worry Tallon," Sirius added, "We wouldn't _dream_ of torturing you like that." Then a sly look entered his eyes and an evil grin appeared on his face. "You know Sel, I'm Harry's godfather, and _you're_ his god_mother_-"his voice was cut off as Splikvin flicked her wand at him.

"Not another word," she warned, "or you won't utter another. And could you _please_ stop using that ridiculous nickname?"

Remus grinned at gave Sirius his voice back." Why?" Sirius asked, "It suits you."

She glared. "It would suit a Hufflepuff three-year old better than me. Or would you like me to call you Siri again?" Remus and Harry laughed while Padfoot returned her scowl. "There's also-"

"Fine," Sirius interrupted, "I get the point."

"So Padfoot, what happened in the Ministry building?" Harry asked, "Did you get hit by something?"

Sirius shook his head, "Not really. I felt something _pull_ at me almost-" he frowned.

"Almost?" Harry prodded.

"Almost like I was coming out of the veil again." He finished. There was silence.

"Maybe Voldemort has brought someone else out?" Remus suggested quietly.

"Maybe," Sirius agreed. "But I got a bad feeling this time- I don't think this person is on our side."

"Then let's hope no more come through," Splikvin said, "And hope you're wrong about this one."

* * *

Harry's dreams that night were filled with memories. Memories of each time he'd seen Voldemort; memories of each time he'd been posses; memories of each time someone got hurt because of him.

He jolted into wakefulness, breathing harshly and a single question running through his mind: _why couldn't he keep Voldemort from taking over?_

Getting out of bed, he saw that it was around four in the morning. Harry got dressed, knowing that he wouldn't be able to sleep any longer, and decided to go for a walk. He stuck his head out the window, and warm, muggy air greeted him. Where could he go that was cooler? He decided that the lake near Headquarters might be, and teleported there.

He didn't go inside the castle, but walked at a steady pace away from it. The grass was still green, untouched by the withering affects of usual summers. A few clouds drifted lazily, calmly, yet serenely through the indigo sky where only the brightest of stars still gleamed. Cool breezes swept past him, bringing with them the smells of pine trees and dew. The atmosphere had a relaxing effect on Harry as he walked.

Upon reaching a rather large pond, Harry sat down on a boulder. A rustle of cloth alerted him that someone else was also there. Curious, Harry changed his eyes to a werewolf's so that he could see better in the still-dark area. A little ways away, Snape was sitting on the ground, his back against a tree, staring out across the across, seemingly lost in thought.

Harry let him be, and also began to think. How _did_ Voldemort take over hi8m? Why could he only block some visions? What if it happened at a crucial moment? During a fight or something? Was it worth the risk?

Was there something he'd done wrong? Or something he _hadn't_ done? Or did he not want to be free of Voldemort's possession enough? Could that be the problem—will? How many more people would get hurt if he was possessed again? Why weren't his current Occlumency abilities enough?

"What are you doing here Potter?"

Harry jerked out of his daze and found Snape standing a few feet away, the barest hints of sunlight already crested the horizon.

"Thinking Sir." He replied, then added, "About Occlumency." He could tell that the potions master was barely suppressing a sneer.

"I though you didn't need to think of it any longer," Snape remarked with the smallest hints of a taunt.

"You always have to think about it to do it," Harry replied evenly, "But-" he trailed off, not sure he wanted to voice his thoughts to Snape, of all people.

"But?"

"I think I'm doing something wrong." Clearly, whatever Snape had been expecting him to say wasn't that. "See, I can keep other people out, like Dumbledore, he tried last summer. And I can keep Vol- er, _his_ emotions out of my head. But I—I just can't stop all the visions, or whenever he tries to take over. I don't understand why."

Snape looked at him. "That is because you did not study the correct form of Occlumency."

"Correct form, Sir?" Harry repeated.

"There are two ways of using Legilimency, so there are two forms of using Occlumency. The first, is the type which you learned, the less difficult form. It organizes the mind, cuts it off from others who are trying to see if you are lying, telling the truth, or if they want to know a specific memory of yours.

"The second why of using both Legilimency and Occlumency is by using sheer force. There is no simple way of doing it. No short cuts; it must be learned via trial and error. It is the form which the Dark Lord uses most often, and the form which I was assigned to teach you if your fifth year.

"It is because of fore that the Dark Lord is able to overcome your mind, and it is because of force that you can see the Dark Lord's current—activities. Unless you learn this form, he will continue to be able to take over."

Harry was silent, digesting all that Snape had just told him. It really would never end. Not unless… "Sir, will you teach me again?" he asked.

Snape was visibly startled for a brief moment. "Why should I?" he asked gruffly, "It was because of you the lessons ended?"

Harry looked at his professor squarely in the eye. "And it was because of me Sirius died later. I can't afford a distraction like him taking over in this war. I can't afford to have something like that happen while I'm fighting."

"Everyone is fighting in this war Potter," Snape reminded him scornfully, "No one wants distractions, and many cannot afford them as well."

"But everyone doesn't have to kill Voldemort," Harry replied quietly, lowering his gaze.

Snape froze. "What?"

Harry's shoulders slumped. "You know about the prophecy, right?"

"Only that there is one concerning you and the Dark Lord."

He exhaled heavily. " 'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches, born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies." The words came tumbling out of Harry's mouth, clear, carrying a growing sense of dread the closer they came to the end. " 'And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have a power the Dark Lord knows not." Harry finished the prophecy in a quiet, bitter voice. " 'And either must die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives.'"

It was somewhat of a relief to finally tell someone else, even if it was someone who didn't like him…

"Who else knows?" Snape asked finally after a few long minutes of silence.

"Professor Dumbledore," Harry answered numbly.

"And?"

"Me, and you, Sir."

"What about Black?" Snape asked in disbelief, "And Lupin?"

"They don't know," Harry answered, looking at the stone beneath him. "No one else knows. Not the Order, not the Weasleys, not Hermione…no one."

"Why?"

"Like you said Sir, no one can afford to be distracted. I know Sirius and Remus would worry, and Mrs. Weasley might go ballistic." Snape emitted something that could almost be considered a chuckle. Harry went on, "They shouldn't waste their time thinking about something they can't do a thing about; that's just…pointless."

Snape was silent once more, arms crossed while he thought. He paced for a few moments, "Merlin knows why I'm doing this…" he muttered, then turned to Harry. "I will continue your lessons tomorrow Potter," he said, "However, know that you must respect my privacy or I swear you will have things worse than detentions to worry about."

Harry nodded. "Yes Sir." _But I already do…_ he thought.

* * *

It was now around noon, and Harry went to Diagon Alley to visit Alex. She wasn't in the store, but Mr. Blurnof was able to tell Harry that she'd gone to a park in London. Harry thanked the very tall, very muscular, and very intimidating man, and went on his way to the park.

He checked three parks before he found the right one. Alex was seated with her backs towards him on a bench, viewing the calm lake. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and dressed in jeans and a white shirt; Harry smiled when he saw the bracelet on her wrist as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

Silently, Harry crept over and covered her eyes from behind as he kissed her cheek. She nearly screeched, but once she tugged his hands away, she smiled, "Don't do that." She scolded as he sat down beside her, then kissed him back.

Harry felt all the anxiety and dread he'd been feeling over the past week melt away as she did. He put an arm around her, holding her closer until a raven cawed nearby, startling them both out of their short bliss.

Harry scowled at the bird and sent a gust of wind at it, causing the bird to tumble away head-over-talons and Alex to laugh. She laid her head on his shoulder and they watched the other, less annoying birds float on the water or gracefully fly above it. This is what it meant to live, Harry decided. He wanted his life to be like this; calm, gentle, peaceful, and with Alex. But as long as Voldemort survived, it wouldn't be like that. Maybe _that_ was what the prophecy meant. That neither of them would enjoy, if that was the word in Voldemort's case, life until the other no longer survived it. There would be no peace, no calm, no rest, until one of them was gone—dead.

He drew his thoughts and attention to Alex, who was talking softly to him. "I've finished the brooms, all of them. Mr. Blurnof is getting help from a fried at Quality Quidditch Supplies to put them on the market. I've decided against opening it majorly, so people have to look for them on their own, you know?" She smiled at him, "And the deal's off, by the way. Not that you've written me many statements…"

Harry chuckled, "And seeing you every day and telling you in person doesn't make up for that?"

"Of _course_ it doesn't," she said mockingly, they both laughed.

Smiling, Harry gently kissed the top of her head, he wanted to have more moments like this, lots more. But Voldemort stood in the way, and Harry decided he wasn't going to allow that for much longer.

**Coming Up:**

Occlumency

Lessons

**Then:**

Gringotts


	10. MindDueling

**Chapter 10**

Harry spent the rest of the day with Alex, and returned home a little after sundown, where he practiced the four spells the founders had taught him.

The next day, Harry spent at Headquarters, playing chess with Ron, Exploding Snap with Ginny, and trying to get Hermione on a broom with Ron, Neville, and the twins' help. In the end, Harry'd pushed the broom up since Hermione had flat out refused to leave the ground. Ron was riding double with her and laughed while she screeched. Harry somewhat pitied Ron's ears as he laughed too.

In the evening, Harry was slipped a note from Snape. It said : 'second floor, dueling room.' _It's pretty convenient, having a dueling room on practically every floor,_ Harry thought. He waited until Snape left then waited a few minutes more and followed. Hearing voices, and wanting to avoid questions as to why he would willingly be following Snape, Harry transformed into a cobra and coiled up in a shadowy corner. He watched silently as the giant forms of Mr. Weasley, Bill, and Dung walked past, talking about their respective jobs.

Once they turned a corner, Harry slithered through the crack in the doorway which led to the room Snape was waiting in. The potions master had his back to him and didn't noticed a snake becoming Harry.

Harry shut the door and sat down, waiting as he cleared his own mind, and sorted through his newest memories.

"_Legilimens."_ Unwarned, the spell hit Harry full force. Memories rushed past him, but Harry noticed that, thankfully, they were unimportant memories, like what he'd done today. _Out, out, out…_Harry thought furiously. He pushed towards the sense of Snape in his mind, but Snape dodged him and pushed back. Memories kept coming, but none were horrible. Harry managed to croak, "_Stupefy!_" while holding his second wand. The spell hit the shield Snape threw in response, and broke it, but didn't stun him. The surprise on Snape's end cut the connection.

Promptly, Snape said, "_Legilimens."_ Now that he was running out of freelance memories, Harry began to relive others. Memories of his finals, elemental lessons, talks with his friends, and his anger at the Dursleys swept by. Harry shoved back, trying to cover as much ground in his mind as possible, in hopes that Snape wouldn't be able to dodge him. It didn't work, and Harry opened his eyes to find himself kneeling on the ground, a headache beginning to form.

"You need to try _harder_ Potter," Snape told him, "OR you won't last one minute against the Dark Lord."

"Yes Sir," Harry said, biting back an angry retort; he _was_ trying hard, but not hard enough apparently.

"Again," Snape said, "_Legilimens_." Snape drove through the freelance memories, instead, lingering in the outer memories. More vivid details of Harry's life with the Dursleys flashed by, aggravating him further. Using his anger, he shoved the distraction of memories aside, focusing on his right hand, which now held his regular wand. "_Stupefy!_" he croaked.

Snape jerked out of the way, continuing with the spell.

Harry's head began to hurt more, he began to get annoyed. _Not his fault,_ Harry thought to himself stubbornly. He forced the chain of thoughts to a new direction. He summoned memories of the Quidditch final, of Christmas, of Sirius and Remus, and of some of Godric and Salazar, arguing pointlessly with each other in their portraits. "_Expecto Patronum!_" he yelled—louder than he'd wanted. The silvery stag charged out of his wand and towards Snape.

It cut the connection as it slashed the air between Harry and Snape with its antlers. Harry opened his eyes, halfway between standing and kneeling, and halted the patronous before it broke something. It came obediently, bowing its head before vanishing. "That will be enough for today," Snape said, putting his wand away, "Clear your mind before you sleep as practice."

"Yes Sir," Harry replied. As the potions master opened the door to leave, Harry added, "Thanks." Harry hid a smile at the shocked look on Snape's face—it wasn't something anyone saw often.

The following day, Harry and his friends had another 'Auror Class,' as Ginny had come to call them since she'd found out what they were doing.

Today they went through the regular drills of rapidly firing stunners, disarming spells, and now shields. A stinging hex hit Harry in the ribs. "You lowered your guard Potter!" Splikvin barked at him.

"I know," he growled under his breath, then blocked the next stinger. Ginny had now taken a part in their training. She would either assist the dummies by throwing hexes at the 'trainees' to her heart's content, or try to distract them, or she would randomly run around the room as an innocent pedestrian—if she was hit, the 'trainees' were barked at and the dummies attacked faster and harder.

_She's having the time of her life,_ thought Harry as he watched Ginny bombard Draco with the bat-bogey hex.

"_Halt_!" Moody shouted; all spells ceased.

"Alright, we're trying something new today" Remus announced, "Now that you all have a relatively good ability at speed and accuracy, we're going to duel again. There's five of you and six of us. You'll be facing one of us, while the last one watches. That will be me. Sound alright?" They nodded.

"Good." Sirius said. "Just to give you guys an idea of how it'll go and what you can do, we'll have our two esteemed Slytherin professors do a practice duel."

They chuckled while the two in question rolled their eyes. "There is something seriously wrong with the world when a Gryffindor compliments Slytherins," Splikvin drawled, eyes fixed on the vaulted ceiling with a mock-tired expression.

"That's because Sirius is in it," Tonks replied cheerfully.

Grinning at Padfoot's glare, Splikvin walked onto the platform with Snape on the opposite end. "Any specifics?" she asked; Snape thought about it.

"No Parsloz."

"Then no knives." He nodded grudgingly.

"On the count of three," Remus told them, "One…two…three!"

Both of them fired stunners, causing the two spells to collide in a shower of sparks. They didn't shout the spells, but whispered them, lips barely moving. To Harry, it was like watching a tennis match, with the spells and curses going back and forth, and occasionally a shield being made or the spells colliding. He was beginning to get dizzy from all the different colored hexes; he didn't recognize even half of them and, judging by the looks on their faces, neither did the others, not even Hermione or Remus.

Finally, Splikvin fired a full body bind after narrowly escaping a stunner. She fired off several more, the last one hitting Snape in the ankle. He froze, dropping his wand. "Sel wins!" Sirius announced.

She glared at him before releasing her brother and putting her hands on her knees, taking a breather. "You've gotten better," she told Snape, "nearly got me."

"You were holding back," he retorted.

She grinned, "Maybe yes and maybe no."

"Alright, pair up and let's start!" exclaimed Moony.

Harry found himself facing Sirius and smiled. "Don't get too happy." His godfather warned him with a grin. Harry looked at the other pairs: Draco and Snape, Neville and Moody, Ron and Splikvin, and Hermione and Tonks.

"Why not?" he asked with his own grin. Remus blew the whistle and the duels began, with Harry firing off Parsloz stunners.

Sirius ducked, knowing that his shields probably wouldn't do any good, and fired a full-body bind. Harry responded with a Parsloz shield and more stunners of the same magic type. He dodged a hex and returned with stunners once more, Sirius turned into a dog and lunged. Harry reacted by becoming a panther and jumped over Padfoot.

He eyed Sirius warily, not sure what his godfather had planned, or what he was able to do in his dog form. Padfoot barked in a playful tone, "_C'mon Tallon, what're you waiting for?_"

Harry bared his teeth in a grin, "_For you to make a mistake."_

Sirius circled him, "_Dream on_!" he replied and jumped at Harry.

Harry lunged forward to meet him, and the two entangled in a dog-panther wrestle. It was a flurry of paws, fur, and mock-angry growls. Harry swatted at Padfoot, careful not to extend his claws. Padfoot skipped out of the way and nipped at Harry's tail. Tallon kicked him firmly, but not enough for injury, in the muzzle, sending the dog a few feet back.

"_There's your mistake,"_ Harry taunted jokingly and pounced. He quickly turned into a werewolf and effectively pinned his godfather.

"_And that's yours,"_ Sirius retorted, then became human. Harry was blown backwards as Sirius shouted, "_Expelliarmus!_"

Harry dragged his claws across the polished wood until he stopped and swung around to face Sirius once more. Tallon sprung, twisting to avoid a stunner. He knocked Sirius' wand hand with his snout, sending the wand flying. Sirius became Padfoot and ducked under Harry.

Tallon chased him down the platform, and when he was only feet away, he jumped—and pinned Sirius on his stomach.

"_Alright, I give,"_ Padfoot's muffled voice growled.

Harry threw back his head and gave a howl that startled the others and made Remus laugh. He then released Sirius and they both took human form.

"Again?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.

Sirius rolled his eyes, "Don't get too cocky." He warned.

Harry grinned, "You told me not to get too happy either." He reminded him. Sirius scowled at him before giving in to the grin he'd tried to hold back and started to laugh.

Harry gave a fake yawn, "_C'mon!_ Padfoot, I haven't got all _day_ to beat you!"

Sirius' laughter died, and he looked at his godson, "You wish." He retorted, "I'll be beating you this time!"

"Yeah, yeah," Harry yawned with grin, the duel began again.

_(A/N: My apologies for the shortness and lack of major incident, but I didn't have time to write it with the next chap.)_

**Coming Up:**

Gringotts

**Then:**

To Test the Cruciatus


	11. Goblins & Gingotts

**Chapter 11**

Harry woke up the next day to the vibration of his pendent, which he now always wore. Bill's face appeared on its surface. "Attack on Gringotts," the eldest Weasley son informed heatedly, "Aurors are stalled, and the goblins are being knocked about by You-Know-Who. We need help."

Harry heard the voice of several other Order members say they'd be right there, Harry said the same.

He tumbled out of bed and hurriedly dressed. Once fully equipped, he teleported under his invisibility cloak to the Gringotts lobby. Immediately he noticed the large number of goblins slumped unconscious on the floor, against the walls, or at their desks. A few were still standing, Harry noticed that one of them was Griphook; they were steadily throwing head-sizedfireballs at the Death Eaters who were trying to gain control over the bank.

Harry also saw Bill shielding the goblins from the occasion curse the Death Eaters got out, along with Dung, Charlie, Snape, and Remus. Quickly, Harry went over to help them. He whispered in Remus' ear to let his guardian know he was there, then fired a shield to cover Bill.

"Get the unconscious goblins out of here," Remus told him, lips barely moving.

"Alright," Harry replied, "Be careful."

So Harry, ducking stray curses and spells, creeped over to the goblins slumped against a wall. One at a time, Harry slipped them under his cloak and carried the out of the hall and into a more secure room. Once he'd gotten about ten of them safe, the Death Eaters noticed. They tried sending curses in his directions, but the Order members were too quick and shielded Harry from the ones he didn't block himself.

Just as Harry came back from transporting another goblin, he felt a bone-breaking hex hit him in the leg, amking his face turn grey and beads of sweat roll off his brow. An unwanted memory flashed in his mind:

_He barely contained a wince. Not at the sharp pain from the breaking of his entire left leg, but at the harsh laughter of Voldemort at his resistance.  
__It was clear that none of them had expected Harry to last this long, and that Voldemort had yet to kill him. Harry thought it was because of fear; a stupid thing really.  
__Then Pettigrew approached, causing Harry to snarl. Even though he could not see, Harry could always tell the traitor apart from all the other scum there. The Death Eaters laughed at his actions, then Wormtail punched him in the shoulder—hard.  
__Harry gritted his teeth to mask the pain…he'd get them back if it was the last thing he did…_

Rage filled Harry and he jerked out of the memory. It was time to return the favor they'd given him. Ignoring the crunching pain of his leg, Harry threw off the cloak and shouted, "_Ignis Morde!_" A large, red fireball with sparks of black appeared at the end of his wand, growing rapidly in size. After only five seconds, it was six feet in diameter and Harry launched it towards the Death Eaters. Some dissaperated, some dodged, but some of them were hit—frozen in shock that Harry had used the fireball curse, a curse that was considered dark magic.

The Order members halted for a moment in surprise as well, but then resumed stunningor disarming the remaining Death Eaters. Harry himself continued to evacuate the unconscious goblins—now only seven were standing—in other rooms. When he came back out, only one Death Eater remained standing; they dissaperated with a pop.

Harry then helped the Order members and aurors, who'd been able to break through the barrier of Death Eaters after Harry's spell, to transport the thirteen Death Eaters who'd been captured to Shadow Hold.

Remus took him aside once that was done. "Are you alright Tallon?" he asked, worry written all over his face. "You're limping."

"Hit with a bone-breaker," Harry replied numbly, "Got me in the leg."

Remus paled, "And you've been walking on it for an hour? Merlin, Harry! Come on, you've got to get that fixed."

Harry's mouth twitched in a smile, Moony had just sounded a lot like Madam Pomfrey. "It can wait until we figure out what happened to them," Harry said, gesturing to the goblins who were slowly waking up.

Remus scratched his head. "Oh, alright; let's ask Bill." They went over to the curse-breaker and inquired about it.

"No idea," he replied with a shrug, "Wish I did though."

Harry frowned, then walked—or rather, limped—over to Griphook, who had fallen unconscious right before Harry had used the fireball curse. "Hello Mr. Harry," the goblin said.

Harry smiled. "Hi Griphook. Are you alright?"

The goblin nodded. "Yes, it was not harmful, merely…annoying."

"What'd he do?"

"He entered and asked us to join him." Griphook informed Harry stiffly. "We said no—we shall remain neutral. Then, as a reply, he left and began to destroy the magic protecting this building and all beneath it. We had fallen unconscious because we are all connected to the wards, and whenever one ward fell, one of us did as well."

"And now the wards are back up?"

Griphook nodded. "That they are."

"Thanks Griphook; you sure you'll be okay?"

"Yes Mr. Harry, I am quite sure—though I ask the same of yourself." He nodded at Harry's twisted,broken leg.

"Oh, I'll get it fixed; I just wanted to make sure everyone is okay. Take care Griphook."

"The same to you, Mr. Harry." The goblin left, and Harry returned to Remus.

"Voldemort was bringing down the wards," Harry informed him.

Moony rubbed his face with a hand, "Oh dear…Are they back up?"

"Yeah."

"Good, then let's get that leg of yours fixed—the rest are at Headquarters."

Harry nodded and teleported with Remus to Headquarters. Once there, he saw that the others had gained injuries as well. Madam Pomfrey was there, seeing to Ron's broken arm, and a nasty burn on Hermione's neck. Splikvin was healing a cut on Sirius' shoulder, and then came over to Harry. "Nice leg Potter," she said with a slight grin.

He smiled tiredly, "Thanks Professor."

She tapped her wand gently on his leg and muttered an advanced healing spell. The sharp pain of the contact soon vanished to be replaced with the more intense, grinding pain of his leg shifting back into place.

Once everyone was healed or had arrived, Dumbledore asked Harry to brief them on what happened to the goblins. When Harry finished, he received a few surprised looks from the others. "What?" he asked, looking around.

"The goblins never talk about the protections on Gringotts, Harry," Bill explained, "They don't even tell the other people who work there."

The only reply Harry could think of was: "Oh."

* * *

Draco appeared as people were beginning to leave. Quickly, he informed them that Voldemort was growing restless and annoyed by the increasing losses he'd suffered so far. Snape darkly noted that the Death Eaters would most likely be punished for it. "Drink the Cruciatus Potion." Harry suggested to Draco.

"The what?" he asked.

Snape glared at Harry, "We do not know if it works yet."

Harry thought about it, then pulled a vial of it form his jean pocket and downed its contents. "Try it." He said, looking at them.

Even Snape lost some of the color in his face. "_What?"_ Hermione screeched.

Harry sighed. "_Try-it_." He repeated. "I know it will work." He looked at his Slytherin friend. "You shouldn't have to endure the Cruciatus for doing the right thing. Since no one trusts the potion, which makes you immune to the curse, I want you to try it."

Draco shifted nervously. "Are you sure?"

"Harry-" Dumbledore and Sirius began, he looked at them.

"It's not like it hasn't been used on me plenty of other times," he growled softly; they stopped. "One more won't kill me."Harry looked back at Draco. "I'm sure—go ahead." Ron was being visibly held back by his arm by Hermione and Remus by Splikvin as Draco raised his wand.

"_Crucio."_ He said, pointing at Harry. Just like Salazar had described, Harry felt the curse hit him, but, unlike the other times Voldemort and his lackeys had used it on him, didn't feel the pain. He shrugged, "Nothing at all." He couldn't keep in a small smile at the blinking faces around him. "Anyone else want to try?" They shook their heads, so Harry offered Draco a vial of the dark blue potion. "It should last for a month."

Draco took a breath, then swallowed the contents of the vial. He made a face, "Can't say much for the taste."

Harry chuckled.

**Coming Up:**

(A Shorter Chapter Than Most)

Occlumency

**Then:**

Playin' Hard


	12. Training Day

**Chapter 12**

Draco's warning dulled the Order's shock the next day when a group of muggles were attacked. Harry had been eating lunch when his pendent vibrated and Moody informed him and anyone else who was listening about the situation. Again, Harry 'dueled' Draco when he saw him. Three Death Eaters were captured, and four muggles' were lost, another five had their memories modified.

The following two days held surprises, both of which the Ministry took care of. One was an attack on Diagon Alley, and another was ona group of muggles yet again.

On the sixteenth day of summer, Harry and his friends had another 'Auror Lesson.'

Today they drilled through six spells: _Stupefy, expelliarmus, reducto, protego, _the flippendo jinx: _ivertae stashio_, and the full body bind. Ginny again helped out in the lesson, and Harry quickly learned just how much he despised the bat-bogey hex. They paired off with their instructors again, this time Harry was facing off against Tonks.

Taking a leaf out of Ron's book, Harry used his animagus abilities to his advantage. He dodged Tonks' disarming spell by turning into a phoenix, and evaded the stunner by becoming a cobra; finally he tackled and disarmed her in his werewolf form. "No fair!" she complained.

Harry yipped his laughter and freed her, then changed back. "Just using the few advantages I have!" he said cheerfully.

She smiled despite herself and changed her hair to bright purple before they dueled again.

While firing a disarming spell, Splikvin barked from behind him, "You dropped your guard Potter!" He jumped what seemed to be three feet into the air—and right into Tonks' freezing spell.

He glared at Splikvin once he was free again. "You're fault, not mine." she replied with a shrug and moved on.

"Alright, cease fire!" Splikvin called a little while later. "Switch partners!"

They changed platforms randomly, and Harry found himself facing Snape. _At least the last duel didn't tire me out all the way,_ he thought as they bowed to each other.

On the count of three, they began. Harry ducked the stinging hex Snape cast, and fired one of his own. Using Parsloz shields, Harry was able to keep most of the curses off—Harry noticed that some of them weren't the friendliest.

When Snape broke his shield with a powerful blasting curse, Harry began to get in trouble. Snape continued to use it whenever Harry fired a shield, followed by a freezer. Harry dipped and swerved, narrowly escaping them. He fired off a few stunners, hoping that one of them would hit—none did.

A sting got him in the arm, making him almost drop his wand. Harry bit back a groan and changed into a cobra to evade another. Snape seemed mildly surprised by the snake before him, but soon began to fire curses at Harry.

Harry hissed at Snape as a stinger hit the middle of his back, flaring his hood. Snape jerked, but remained calm.

_"Be nice",_ Splikvin hissed as she watched them duel.

_Tell that to him!_ Harry hissed back with annoyance as he darted away from a stunner. Splikvin chuckled and resumed inspecting the other duels.

Harry called all his forms and reflected Snape's stinger back at him. It hit the head Slytherin in the chest and made him wince slightly.

_HA!_ Harry thought savagely, and whipped at him with his tail.

Snape jumped over it, firing more curses. They bounced off, until he hit Harry in the eye with a freezer.

Harry was slowed, but that gave Snape ample time to fire more. _Dag nabit,_ Harry growled to himself as he froze completely. Snape smirked at Harry and then unfroze him.

"Halt!" Splikvin yelled. Harry became human and rubbed his head savagely, it was sore beyond imagination.

The duelers stopped and took a breather—mainly for the trainees benefit. They rested for about ten minutes, then switched to drills again. This time, three new spells were taught: jelly-arms, a shield that blocked physical things, and the levitation charm.

Five minutes into practice and Harry heard a _whoosh_ sound that was all too familiar. He groaned.

The bean bags had returned.

* * *

Harry's second Occlumency lesson occurred that evening as well. He met Snape in the same room as last time and quickly cleared his mind; he hoped practicing it before bed had helped some. Snape said, "_Legilimens_," and the lesson began. 

Freelance memories whizzed through Harry's mind, too fast for either of them to see. Harry slowed Snape down, trying to get him to halt altogether. While slowing, Harry's memories of his childhood came into view—the cupboard full of spiders, being chased into a tree by Ripper, running from Dudley and his gang...

Harry was barely aware of raising his wand as his head began to ache. "_Expelliarmus!"_ he yelled.

"Harder, Potter." Snape's voice rumbled through his ears.

Harry could feel himself slowly sinking towards the ground. "_Harder_." Snape growled again.

Harry pushed back against Snape as they got closer to his inner memories. "_Expelliarmus!"_ he hissed in Parsletongue.

The spell rocketed out and hit Snape, breaking the connection. Because his mind was weakened at the moment by the Legilimency, Harry's spell had the power of a normal disarmer and the potions master was thrown backwards about ten feet.

Harry straightened and cleared his mind before Snape could try again. As he'd suspected, no sooner had Snape gotten to his feet he said, "_Legilimens_."

Harry fought to keep them hovering in the freelance memories, but didn't totally succeed. Snape broke out of his grip—the result was like releasing a bow string. The outer memories zoomed by, before they crashed into Harry's inner ones.

He caught a glimpse of his father and knew that this was Snape's worst memory. Harry jerked them out of it, earning a splitting headache as a reward. The forceful move had put them in the middle of Harry's many memories of his capture by Voldemort.

The few images he had were soon replaced by vivid memories of the smell of sweat, blood, and the feelings of pain, anger, and hate. _No,_ Harry thought—he didn't want to relive those times.

He brutally shoved Snape out, driving him back as furiously as he could through the memories of Sirius' death, the resurrection of Voldemort, and then through the outer and freelance memories.

Harry gasped for breath and opened his eyes, finding himself kneeling on the floor again. Snape was rubbing his head gently, with his wand at his side. "Sorry," Harry croaked.

The potions master looked up. "Do not apologize for doing what I told you."

Harry's eyes widened. "I got you out.?"

"Yes." Snape hesitated, but curiosity got the better of him. "The memories without sight, those are from last November?"

Harry winced slightly, "Yeah, they are; didn't you know when you went there?"

Snape looked at him sharply. "No, I did not. I do not _choose_ which memories of yours to view; that is usually a drawback of this form of Legilimency."

"Oh, do you know why?"

"Somewhat. In this form, it is all about force, there is little control. The memories that are shown can only be controlled by the holder. This is because the outsider is putting all their effort towards getting _in, _not towards a certain direction, or rather, time."

"You don't seem tired." Harry noted.

"That would be because I am not."

"Huh?"

Snape sighed. "Potter, notice I said 'usually a drawback'. I do not need to exhaust myself to get through your defenses. After doing this since mysecond year at Hogwarts, I shouldn't have to."

Harry thought about it for a minute.

"So, you're going easy on me." He said finally.

Snape raised an eyebrow. "That is one way of putting it."

"What'll happen if you don't?"

"I don't know."

"Have you ever done it before?"

"Yes, with Selena. However, she is botha practiced Occlumens and Legilmens."

"Can you do it with me?"

Snape hesitated. "I doubt Black and Lupin would approve of it, especially the possible after effects."

"Then it'll be my fault," Harry replied.

Snape hesistated again, but finally nodded."Very well, clear your mind—and you had better have a strong headache cure nearby." Snape raised his wand. "_Legilimens._"

_(A/N: So, how bad will it be? Will Snape be the victim of Moony and Padfoot's wrath?)_

**Coming Up:**

Much Worse

Animagi Elite

**Then:**

Vision


	13. The New Order

**Chapter 13**

Harry felt as if lightning was blazing through his head, and a volcano had exploded through his scar. He bit his lip until it bled, trying to keep from screaming. Unable to do so, he pointed his wand at himself and yelled, "_Silencio!_"

With his voice removed, he allowed himself to scream in pain. It was worse than his capture, it was worse than loosing Sirius—he guessed it was worse than death.

The elements heard Harry despite his silence and rose to help him. Wind picked up in the room, the plants outside rioted, and shadows leapt free from their shapes.

_NO!_ He thought as fire appeared out of thin air, _don't hurt anybody!_ He cast out his elemental magic, freezing the wind, flames, shadows, and plants.

_Why?_ Demanded the elements.

_It was my CHOICE! It's to help me!_ He replied desperately.

_Then we shall help_. Their voices relaxed, and Harry felt them lend him strength.

Though the pain continued, Harry knew that Snape had recoiled as soon as Harry had silenced himself. Slowly, Harry shoved the Legilimency magic out, along with the pain.

Gasping, he opened his eyes as someone barged into the room—Splikvin. On her shoulder rested a shadow sprite, showing how she'd known something was amiss. She looked at Harry with wide eyes then—of all things—laughed, if harshly.

"Merlin, Potter!" she cried in exasperation, "The rules really _don't_ apply to you!" Closing the door behind her, she walked over and gave Harry the wet rag that appeared in her hand, "Your scar is bleeding." she explained.

Harry put a hand to his forehead and found that it was incredibly warm. _Great,_ he thought, then wiped it off with the rag. Its coolness felt good against his hot skin. Hedwig appeared and began to attack Snape. Harry tried to call her off, but his voice was still gone. He turned into a phoenix and mentally sang out, "_Hedwig, no! He was trying to help!_"

Slowly, Hedwig looked back and forth between the phoenix Harry and Snape as she hovered. '_Helping?'_ she repeated skeptically.

Harry was nearly shocked out of his form by the fact that he could actually understand her. "_Yeah, helping._"

'_Alright then, I trust you to know what it is you're doing. But TELL me the next time he is going to 'help' you.'_

Harry sand his laughter and transformed back.

"What happened?" Splikvin asked as Hedwig perched on Harry's shoulder.

Harry opened his mouth only to remember that he couldn't speak. "_Finitae Incantantum._" Snape murmured; Harry's voice was restored.

"Occlumency." Harry croaked in answer.

Splikvin rubbed the back of her neck. "Explain further please."

"Well, I got Professor Snape out, and I asked him to go harder on me, 'cause I think Voldemort won't go easy."

She looked at Snape. "How hard?"

"Full extent," he replied.

She shook her head with a sigh. "You warned him, right?" Snape nodded. "And how much did you use to stop the elements? Smuck here nearly had a heart-attack!"

Harry looked at the sprite 'Smuck'. "Umm—a lot?"

"An absolutely _wonderful_ answer," she said dryly, Harry couldn't help a tired smile, "But, I suggest that you lighten it a bit Sev, the intensity level, I mean. Merlin knows what could happen next time." She tilted her head towards Smuck, listening to what it said. "Good point. Smuck here suggests that you go into a room specialized to keep anything you don't want, out. I think there's a room at Hogwarts that should do—if you get Dumbledore's permission, that is."

"I will ask about it." Snape told her, then looked at Harry. "We will end now, and I advise you to sleep earlier than usual." With that, he exited the room. A small gurgle came from Smuck, causing Splikvin to chuckle. "Very true."

"What?" Harry asked, rubbing his furiously aching head.

Splikvin grinned apologetically, "Sev is the better of us two at Occlumency; if you think _that_ was bad, think again."

Harry gulped. "Lemme guess, you're worse?"

Her grin widened, "_Much _worse."

* * *

The following day, mayhem erupted. The Ministry got calls from various wizards and witches, saying that some people were acting strange, others deadly. By the afternoon, word was out: the Imperious Curse had returned. 

Harry and the rest of the Order spent the entire time of the next two days hunting down victims, as well as the castors. Little luck was with them. Each time, they came back tired; you never knew what people were going to do.

Despite the tiring routine, Harry and his friends found themselves in the dueling room practicing drills and dueling. This time Harry versed Moody; Parsloz magic was his only advantage and a good one too; he finally beat Mad-Eye.

Harry went back to The Hideaway and studied a bit with the founders, branching out in his knowledge of curses, potions, and Arthrimacy. He also updated them on current events; Salazar was pleased that his potion had worked well on others as well, and then retreated to the dungeons, most likely to experiment some more; Harry hoped he wasn't about to blow the house up. Meanwhile, Harry practiced some more Quidditch with Godric.

It was a relief to get into the air for a bit, chase around the snitch, and release his energy by swatting the bludgers away with all his might. He smiled as he remembered how Oliver Wood had said, 'Not bad Potter, you'd make a fair beater.' The two of them tried some newer passes with the quaffle, and also a set of Seeker feint moves.

Unfortunately, Harry's pendant vibrated and Tonks alerted him that a group of muggles were in trouble—he teleported there immediately after a giving a hasty explanation to Gryffindor about his sudden cause for departure. Since Harry was still on his broom, it was an interesting fight.

By the time the Death Eaters fired curses at him, he was already gone and shooting some of his own. Ron, who was also there, said he didn't even have to do anything but watch. Harry laughed, releaving the tension of the fight; at least no one had gotten hurt. Harry visited Alex once the muggles were safe and memory-wiped and the two of them went to the park again.

The next evening, right after Harry's painful but necessary Occlumency lesson with Snape in the Room of Requirement, there was another Order meeting.

Dung had gotten ambushed and hadn't been able to get out of the wards to dissaperate, portkey, or even teleport away; that was a problem. "We need to think of a way to avoid that issue, or a way to manage it." Dumbledore told them.

"How about learning to create solid patroni?" Harry suggested. "If it's big enough, you can ride it."

Dumbledore stroked his beard thoughtfully. "That is a possibility. However, if something happens to our wands, or if it is not large enough…"

Godric spoke up from his frame. "Then do something easier: become animagi." The Order starred at him.

"I don't recall it ever being 'easy'." McGongall informed him stiffly.

The founder grinned. "That's because you _picked_ your shape; your mind and body wasn't already tuned to it. Ask those three, they know it's easy." He pointed at Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who shifted uneasily. The six who'd been teaching them knew only about Ron and Harry, but the rest of the Order didn't know about any of them other than Harry. 'Know one's bothered to ask,' Splikvin had explained a while ago.

"You're animagi?" Mrs. Weasley squeaked.

Ron, blushing, nodded and turned into a thestral, then a German Shepard, and lastly and alligator. His brothers applauded.

"You're one to?" Tonks said, looking at Hermione with surprise.

Smiling shyly, Hermione revealed her owl and unicorn forms. "Ginny's one too," Ron said. Mrs. Weasley's eyes widened. "And it _is_ pretty easy… fun too."

Godric smiled at McGonagall, "I told you so."

Salazar sneered. "Honestly, there is not one humble bone in your body!"

"There's not one in yours either!" Godric retorted. Salazar opened his mouth to reply.

"Gentlemen, please!" Remus said, stopping the argument before it could begin; living at The Hideaway had taught him how long the two could debate something, even if it was pointless to do so. "Thank you." He finished when they shut their mouths.

"You're welcome," Godric said, Salazar rolled his eyes while the other two founders shook their heads. "Do you want to learn or not?"

"We would be most grateful," Dumbledore answered.

Godric nodded. "Well, if any of you were Slytherins, you might want to go with Sal, don't know why—it's just what he thinks."

The founder in question sniffed. "It is because you do not understand the qualities those of my house posses." He explained haughtily.

"And the ones you lack," Godric muttered, then shrugged. "Whatever." Harry hid a grin behind one hand and Snape, Splikvin, and Draco left with Salazar.

The other members of the Order then got comfortable after Gryffindor said it would take about five hours to do it completely. Harry, meanwhile, went up to the dueling room with his two friends to practice the Patronous Charm. By the end of the third hour, Hermione's otter was solid, and Ron's revealed its shape: an eagle.

They then moved on to practice dueling for the remainder of the time. Finally, at ten o'clock, the sounds of various animals reached their ears. The three of them went downstairs and were met by quite a few creatures.

"Can you guess who's who?" Godric asked, Salazar looked quite expectant as well.

Harry grinned and looked around, recalling what people's masks had been at the masquerade last year. "Professor Dumbledore is the phoenix," he said, "Remus is the wolf, and Hagrid's the hippogriff." He observed the others, "That's all I can tell."

"Fred 'n' George are the red-orange weasels," Ron said promptly, "Dad's the raccoon, and Mum's the bear."

"I can't tell _any _of them…" Hermione said with disappointment. A large black horse in the corner made a noise that sounded very close to a snigger. Harry saw a black mare next to it and raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure you meant that in a nice way, Professor Snape." He said.

The stallion glared at him while the mare whinnied a laugh. "Professor Splikvin is the mare," Hermione said immediately; the mare nodded.

"Any more guesses?" inquired Slytherin.

Harry noticed Helga's eyes flick upwards, and so Harry tilted his head back. His gaze was commanded by a very large, dark red Hungarian Horntail hovering silently above them all. "Hiya Neville!" he called with a smile while thinking, _did_ _he join the Order early too? Or is he allowed in the meetings?  
_

The dragon looked down and barred his teeth in a grin.

"Give up yet?" Godric asked in a bored voice, they nodded. "Alright, one-formers change back." Remus, Hagrid, Mr. Weasley, Neville and Dumbledore were the ones they'd recognized. A black eagle became Sirius, the yellow and blue parrot was Kingsley, a grey unicorn turned into McGonagall, Moody took the place of a lizard, the starling was Tonks, and Charlie had been the hedgehog.

"Next shapes!" Godric said, "Smooth transformations, if you please." The remaining creatures shifted into new forms. Harry sighed.

"This is going to take forever," he complained.

"It _is_ rather amusing, however." Salazar replied, "Now guess." None of the creatures had stayed in the same spot, so the three had no idea who was where and what. A set of cackles drew their gaze to two transparent, yet solid, Weasley twins. "Oh no…." Hermione groaned, "_Poltergeists?_"

Harry laughed, "Wait 'til Peeves finds out!" Looking around, he noticed something odd, there were seven left now, when he'd seen about five left earlier. "Were some of you smaller before?" he asked.

"Yes, there was a wasp, a beetle, and a rodent." Salazar told him.

Harry now saw a hawk, which he knew was Snape, a thestral, which had to be Splikvin, a basilisk, he guessed that was Draco, a turtle, a griffin, and a bright red butterfly. "Draco," he said, looking at the closed-eyed serpent, "Were you the wasp, the beetle, or the-- rodent before?"

The serpent shifted its coils uneasily, then turned into a pure white ferret; Draco quickly appeared in its place, glaring. "Say anything and you'll wish you hadn't." he growled, mainly looking at Ron.

Harry grinned, "Won't say a word." He promised, while fighting back a roar of laughter. Hermione and Ron fervently nodded their agreement, but laughter shone in their eyes like fireworks at midnight. "Do you know what everybody else is?" Harry asked.

Draco nodded, "But you have to guess," with a smirk, he sat down in an armchair.

Harry sighed, "Professor Snape is the hawk, Professor Splikvin is the thestral, and I'm guessing Dung is the turtle, formerly the beetle?"

"Yup," the last wizard said, becoming human.

"Bill's the griffin," Ron said firmly, "and was the wasp." His brother appeared with a grin and nodded.

"Mrs. Weasley is the butterfly." Hermione said. Molly appeared with a smile, now only the two Snapes were left.

"Alright, try your third forms." Gryffindor said, "You can either smoothly transform, or return to normal if it makes it easier." The two chose smooth transformation and switched, becoming two bats: a flying fox and a fruit bat.

"I didn't know you were a vegetarian Severus," Moony joked. The bat flew at Remus' face, and turned into black werewolf at the last moment, pinning the other to the floor.

Remus smiled despite the growling animagus, "Alright, not so vegetarian." The werewolf glared at him.

"Sev," Splikvin sighed, now human, "You need to get a sense of humor." Snape release Remus and changed back.

"Are you going to do your last form?" Salazar asked.

She raised an eyebrow, "And die soon after?" she drawled, Harry remembered that her mask had been a shark, "I don't think so; maybe in water."

Snape flicked his wand with a smirk, and Splikvin was encased in a sphere of water. "Now try," he said.

She glared at him and rolled out of it, sending the water crashing to the floor. "You're the one who needs a hair-washing," she grumbled as water dripped all over the floor like rain.

"You need to get a sense of humor Sel," Padfoot told her with mock-seriousness. Splikvin rolled her eyes and dried herself off as the others laughed.

* * *

**Coming Up:**

An Army Arises

'I am NOT tired!'

**Then:**

Dementors Evolved

**Review Response:**

**tuxedomac: **_Sorry about that; homework, chores, finals, it's all catching up to me now. Thank you for the advice, I hope this one was better. (_**response to review of ch.12) **


	14. The Nightmare Army

**Chapter 14**

The Order ate dinner, but the meeting continued for several more hours afterwards, basically until everyone was at least able to conjure a corporeal, if not solid, patronous; this alone boosted confidence.

The meeting room was lit by the silvery zoo of roaming patroni. Harry matched the spells with their castors for a few minutes. Moony's was a phoenix, and Padfoot's was a wolf. Some of the more amusing ones were Fred's ostrige, Tonk's elephant, Mr. Weasley's seal, and Mrs. Weasley's bird—it was hard to imagine something the size of a fist chasing away Dementors. Among the others were a dolphin from McGonagall, George's sprite, Charlie and his griffin, Mad-Eye's parrot, Neville's cougar, Kingsley's dog, and Splikvin's and Snape's werewolf and thestral.

Hagrid had obtained a new wand a few days earlier after being cleared by the Ministry, but was only able to produce a white mist. He beamed at it nonetheless.

Harry went to bed late that night, falling asleep instantly. When he woke up, it wasn't naturally.

_The wind did not stir a single blade of grass. Instead, it hung frozen in  
t__he air like a cold, dead thing seemingly scared into stillness.  
__He smiled, stretching his long, pale fingers. He gazed out from his throne at those gathered  
there under the darkening sky. Gone was the moon, swallowed by__shadow.  
The stars however, retained their annoying brightness, shining down on his army._

_Exactly one hundred and eighty-two Death Eaters from all across the globe had come,  
and another seventy two were to be initiated soon. The three-hundred __dementors he'd  
gathered waited silently a little ways off, turning the plants around them limp;  
the ground beneath them was coated with frost as they sucked out all feeling from the atmosphere nearby._

_He turned his gaze to the half-creatures. Fourteen Giant clans had come to him; he had killed the rest of course. Four herds of chimeras had joined him, adding eighty more to his forces. Twenty-five trolls lazed next to the fifty half-man, half-bull Minotaurs. Ferocious fighters and formidable opponents, he admitted it—though never to them._

_No, he would never tell them. The envoys he had sent to the werewolf and vampire clans had told them that and the half-creatures had refused to join. He clenched a fist, those Death Eaters were lucky to still be alive, if only half due to pain._

_Slowly, he rose from his throne. All those who served under him immediately bowed or inclined their heads. He smiled inwardly. It was truly amazing that all these creatures, all the regal purebloods bowed in fear to him—a half-blood born of a treacherous muggle and a foolish witch._

_"My loyal servants," he began, Nagini coiling up at his feet, "We have gathered this night to prepare for the war. We will meet our enemies on the fields of blood. But it will be their blood that covers all in red. We shall be victorious soon! The promises I have made you shall be kept. And should your loyalty prove steadfast and true, your rewards shall be increased ten fold. They have made their move, taken their turn. Now, it is ours!"_

_His army threw out a roar. The air thundered with their cries and he smiled grimly once more. Let them bring their petty Order, let them fight; it would only lead to their defeat. Resistance was futile. In their slow, painful, fruitless deaths, his glory would arise…_

"HARRY!"….."HARRY!" Someone was shaking him roughly by the shoulders.

Harry gasped, opening his eyes. Slowly, the world came back into focus, and Harry was glad the contacts never needed to be taken out—it made the process of waking go so much faster.

Remus' whiskered face was the first thing Tallon saw. "Are you alright?" his guardian asked, "You were rigid, and looked like you were in pain."

Harry blinked. "I didn't scream?"

Remus sat down on the bed, the color was returning steadily to his face. "No, you didn't. Salazar was passing through the frame in here and fetched me."

_Occlumency must be working a bit,_ Harry thought. "Remind me to thank him later; I've got to tell Dumbledore."he said, and began to get dressed.

Harry could tell Moony had seen the scars on his back when the older wizard stiffened."Tell him what?"Remus asked instead, to Tallon's relief.

"It was another vision. The first one since—since last school year." Harry looked at Remus with wide, nervous eyes. "He's got an _army_, Moony! Over two hundred Death Eaters! And that's not all either! Chimeras, Minotaurs, trolls, Giants, and Dementors too!"

"How many in all, do you think?" Remus asked, voice tight.

Harry shuddered, doing the math. "Almost a thousand—no exaggeration."

Remus paled once more. "You're right—Dumbledore has to know."

Harry took out the pendent form under his shirt and said, "Dumbledore."

The surface misted over, then cleared, leaving an extremely awake Headmaster in view. "Hello Harry," he said, "Trouble?"

Harry nodded, "Big trouble—but not here, not yet."

Dumbledore frowned. "Where?"

"I'm not sure. But Sir, I had a vision. It was of Voldemort's army—it's bad Sir, real bad."

Worry creased Dumbledore's already-wrinkled brow. "Would you come to my office at Hogwarts? I would like to see."

Harry nodded. "Yes Sir; I'll be right there." He ended the connection and looked at Remus. "Do we stand a chance?"

Remus sighed. "Yes, in numbers we surpass him by _millions_. However, he has a tool that cuts our numbers down to a fraction of that: fear. The creatures he has helping him excel at creating it. Chaos, destruction, ferocity—those are their specialties. If there weren't so many people who were scared of them, we'd have beaten Voldemort long ago. A chance, yes we have one—but only one, I think. Unless we can get enough people together that are willing to fight back—we might loose it. Let's hope I'm wrong though."

Harry nodded in agreement. "Definitely."

Remus left and Harry finished getting dressed, then apperated to Hogwarts while bending the wards.

He'd arrived in front of the gargoyle, which leapt aside without hearing the password. Harry climbed the steps and knocked on the door. "Come in."

He opened the door and entered, finding Hedwig sharing Fawkes' perch with the other phoenix, and Dumbledore setting a book aside. The two phoenixes sang Harry a greeting, which he mentally returned—Fawkes seemed surprised and nearly stumbled off his perch.

Dumbledore gestured to the dish of yellow candies on his desk. "Lemon Drop?"

"No thank you, Sir."

"As you wish." Dumbledore walked over to the cabinet and pulled out his pensive. "It is empty," he said.

Harry withdrew the memory of his vision and put it inside. Dumbledore waited for him to finish, then accessed the memory.

For several minutes Harry watched Dumbledore's expression grow more and more grave. Once he exited the memory, he looked at Harry. "Was it painful?"

Harry shook his head. "No actually. Remus said I _looked_ like I was in pain, but I didn't feel anything—I didn't wake up screaming like I normally do either."

"Hmmm….interesting. Perhaps you are building up a resistance towards the effects of your visions. Do I have your permission to show this at the nest Order meeting?"

Harry nodded. "Sir, besides sharing memories, what's a pensive used for?"

"Storing them," the Headmaster replied, "Although the memory never truly leaves your mind, putting it into a pensive makes it less accessible to those who would try to use Legilimency against you. Highly accomplished Legilmens, like Selena and Voldemort, for example, are able to find them despite the lack of—strength—of the memory, but it costs a great deal of energy I am told."

Harry scratched his head. "So, putting something in a pensive makes it harder to recall the details, unless you're watching it _in_ the pensive?"

"Precisely."

"So, what's left in your mind is like—a shadow of the original memory?"

Dumbledore smiled, "A very understandable way of putting it."

Harry nodded, his curiosity satisfied.

* * *

A little after lunch, Hedwig arrived at The Hideaway with a note from Snape, saying that Harry's Occlumency lesson was in ten minutes.

Harry spent it clearing his mind, then went to the Room of Requirement at Hogwarts.

Snape was arriving at the same moment, and the two entered the room without a word. Harry again wondered if Snape regretted agreeing to teaching him again.

It was a plain room, with wooden flooring and walls, and two black armchairs; a neutral room. It also cut Harry's connection to sprites, if not to the elements.. He talked with them, then explained what was about to happen.

He nodded to Snape, letting the potions master know that chaos wouldn't ensue if he used Legilmency; which is what he did seconds later.

Harry fell backwards into the armchair, clenching his teeth until they creaked as he fought back. It was only two-thirds force, so Harry was dimly aware of the memories currently being viewed. Tallon yanked himself and Snape, trying to get out of his memories of Voldemort's rising. They saw Cedric die, Wormtail tie Harry to the tombstone, and the knife pierce Harry's arm…

The panther roared in Harry's mind, and he shoved Snape out. Gasping quietly for breath, Harry drank the glass of water the room supplied him with. After nodding to let Snape know he was ready, they began again—this time increasing the intensity until it was _almost_ full force.

Sweat rolled off Harry's face and back, in both pain and nervousness. He could never tell what Snape saw, only received flickers of past emotions—that's what made him nervous; that's what gave him strength.

Tallon's muscles tensed as he searched for the sense of Snape in his mind. Finding it, he spread himself out and charged, imagining himself as a werewolf in his mind. He pulled ferociously, moving towards the edges of his mind.

Snape increased pressure, pulling back and shrinking, then slipped out of Harry's grasp. Harry called his totems and they tracked Snape down. Recapturing him, Harry dragged the potions master out through unseen memories, until there were none at all.

Harry slumped, exhausted and unable to believe it. He looked at Snape, who was now also sitting down. Snape nodded, "I am out."

Harry would have grinned if he hadn't been so tired. He noticed that Snape's face was beaded with sweat, and his breathing wasn't as even as it normally was. "Tired?" Harry croaked.

Snape glared at him. "No Potter, I am not." he replied harshly.

Harry shrugged, and instantly regretted it—just that movement drained him of his energy, low as it was. "We done?" he asked.

Snape got to his feet, "Yes." After steadying himself with the chair, and glaring at Harry when the younger wizard turned a chuckled into a cough, he left.

With a yawn, Harry teleported straight to his bed and slept until dinner.

**Coming Up:**

Dementors Evolved

Parsloz Patroni

The Challengers

(This is going to be very long)

**Then:**

'Can't _HELP_!'

* * *

**Review Response:**

**R-Krulle: **_No, it has nothing to do with power. Dumbledore has one form, and it is a magical creature of light. That means, well, symbolically anyway, that he is completely for the side of good, and he is strong in magical abilities._

**Dranix:** _See the response to 'jamesyankee7's review, it's at the bottom of chapter six, he asked the same. If you still do not understand, feel free to ask again. _


	15. The Guardians & The Challengers

**Chapter 15**

The following day was an Order meeting, and Dumbledore broke the news of Harry's vision—few of them took it well. Mr. Weasley said he would alert the other Minister and begin to have the Dangerous Magical Creatures Department prepare.

When the meeting ended, Harry and his friends reported to the dueling room once more. They drilled in eight disarmers, three types of stunners, four shields, and patroni.

After an hour of that, the duels began. Harry faced off against Mad-Eye, and soon found that the grizzled auror now had sharper spells, and a sharper tongue.

Harry could feel his face growing red as Moody taunted him about his performance. "_HA!_ I could've got you right there Potter!" "Going to let an old man beat you, eh Potter?" "A muggle's got better form than you!"

Out of patience, Harry blew him off the platform with a Parsloz flippendo jinx. Moody didn't drop his wand even when he smacked into the wall. He shook his head and stood, grinning maniacally at Harry. "Not bad Potter! Then again, blastin' an old, paranoid, crippled wizard isn't much to boast about is it?"

Harry rolled his eyes as Snape called a halt.

The next part of the lesson was on the dark creatures that had joined Voldemort. They already knew how to deal with dementors, chimeras, and minotaurs, but that was for one or two of them. Splikvin and Remus told them how to fight if there were five to ten of them—their animagus abilities were extremely handy.

Sirius told them about he effects a dementor would have on them in animal form, and Tonks taught them how to deal with trolls. "I like my way." Ron said.

"Which is?" Tonks said. So Ron demonstrated the drop-club maneuver he'd used on the troll in their first year.

"Primitive," Draco commented with a smirk.

"Hey, what works, works!" Tonks exclaimed. Harry laughed.

After the lesson, Harry teleported with Ron and Hermione to Diagon Alley. They went to Blurnof's Eyestore and picked up Alex since she wasn't working.

Together the four of them went to the deli for lunch. They talked, joked, and traded stories of their various summers. Ron was nearly shocked dead when Alex told them she'd been in Slytherin, but Hermione wasn't—she'd thought she'd seen her before.

Once they finished eating, they roamed through the stores, occasionally meeting some of their friends, and buying small trinkets when they wanted. An hour or two later, they went into a well-lit alley, and Harry placed a notice-me-not charm on them—they'd decided to teach Alex to become an animagus.

Ron and Hermione left after an hour, and about fifteen minutes after that, Alex had identified two of her three totems: a tiger and a rattlesnake. After an hour more, she identified the other: a siren.

"Harry!"

Harry turned sharply around to find Ron and Hermione running towards him.

"Dementors!" Hermione gasped, "Big ones!"

Harry jumped to his feet. "Where?"

"Just down the street," Ron said, "We called the others—Tallon, patroni aren't stopping them!"

Harry felt all the blood drain out of his face. Getting out his wand, he ran out of the alleyway with the others behind him.

It was a living nightmare.

People screamed, running from the Death Eaters who laughed at the chaos. Some people were frozen with fear as the dementors approached. Harry gasped, the dementors were twice their normal size and the silvery patroni didn't stop their advance, instead, they merely disappeared.

Harry gripped both his wands. "Don't fail me Dad," he whispered. Raising the two wands, Harry shouted, "_EXPECTO PATRONUM!_"

A silver stag at least fifteen feet tall charged, hooves thundering across the pavestones. Those in its path jumped out of the way; a few Death Eaters weren't quick enough.

The dementors hesitated, as if unsure what this new being of light was. Then, they fled, soaring up into the air and away out of sight. But there were still thirty Death Eaters attacking. Harry gathered a few winds and twirled them together. Keeping a good part of his magic anchored within him, Harry sent the miniature cyclone after the dark wizards. Two were caught and spit out against a wall—Ron stunned them.

Three more were tossed into the air, to land with painful, but not fatal, thuds—Hermione froze them.

The Death Eaters set fire to several buildings, before firing the Dark Mark into the sky and dissaperating from the scene.

The stag returned to Harry, bowing its head. "Thanks Dad," he whispered. As it disappeared, he felt all his energy drain away. He fell to his knees, black confusing his vision, and was unconscious before he could even blink.

Cool air flowed past his face. Something soft was underneath him, something light was on top of him.

His throat and mouth were dry, and there was a pounding ache in his head. Opening his eyes, Harry's vision was filled with gold. "Wha?"

Fingers brushed the gold away. "Your hair."

Harry blinked, smiling as Alex came into focus. "What happened?" he croaked.

She handed him a glass of water, and helped him to drink. "You drained yourself," she explained once he was finished. "That patronous took too much out of you—you're at home now. Lupin and Cklab were really insistent on it."

He smiled, holding her hand. "Are _you_ alright?"

"I'm fine."

"Did anything happen to you?"

"Oh—just one hex, it's completely gone now. What worries me are those dementors. My patronous couldn't do a thing"

Harry frowned. "I wonder what was wrong with them, the patroni I mean. Or maybe somehow the dementors changed?"

Alex sighed. "The Patronous Charm's been in existence for thousands of years; it used to be harder, but the effect was the same. I wouldn't be surprised if the dementors are finally finding a way to not be driven away by them."

"Or if Voldemort evolved them," Harry added.

"True. Do you want something to eat? It's an hour past dinnertime."

Harry's eyes widened, "I've been out that long?" She nodded. "Have you been here the whole time?"

"She hasn't moved from that spot," Padfoot's voice said. Harry turned and saw his godfather coming through the door. "I came in to check on you two; feeling better?"

Harry nodded, "You?"

"Feeling great." He smiled wolfishly, "Managed to pack five more off to Shadow Hold."

Harry nodded. "Was anyone hurt on our side?"

Sirius' face fell. "Three people were kissed, seven more were killed."

"None you know," Alex added in a quiet voice.

Harry clenched his hands, then let his anger slowly drift out of him. Shaking his head, he looked at Alex. "I think I will get something to eat, care to join me?"

She smiled, "Sure; it's to quiet in here, now that you've stopped snoring."

Sirius laughed while Harry blushed like a Weasley.

Alex stayed the night in one of the guestrooms, wanting to make sure Harry would be alright the following day.

His bones were a little wobbly, but other than that, he was fine. A few runs through the house in panther form had him feeling like his old self again.

During lunch, Remus' pendent vibrated. He spoke to the caller for a few minutes before turning to Harry. "Tallon, Selena has something she wants to try—would it be alright if I brought her here?"

Harry nodded, "Sure." So Moony left, and Sirius, Alex, and Harry did a few practice duels upstairs.

Just as Tallon had disarmed Alex in werewolf form, Remus and Splikvin entered. "Hey Sel," Sirius greeted casually.

"Hello Siri," she replied evenly, Remus chuckled as Padfoot rolled his eyes.

_I don't think he gets it,_ Harry thought amusedly.

"Harry," Splikvin said, "I'd like to try something with you."

He transformed back. "What is it?"

"Parsloz patroni." She answered. "I wasn't able to find one of the new dementors, but Smuck tells met that there's one near here-wherever 'here' is."

He scratched his head. "Alright, where to?"

Splikvin tilted her head. Harry noticed the dark shadow under the collar of her shirt. "About half an hour from here—well, walking anyway:

Harry took panther shape immediately.

"Then let's run," Sirius agreed with a grin before becoming a dog. They left The Hideaway, then Remus became a wolf, Alex a white tiger, and Splikvin a mare.

Splikvin led the way, with Smuck riding on her back. Harry followed, jumping from boulder to log, tensing his powerful legs just before he sprang. Alex ran beside him, her sleek form rippling gracefully with each movement.

For the first time in a long while, Harry felt completely free. He enjoyed the smells of the trees, the damp earth, and relished the feeling of jumping across the landscape with ease, of seeing the land flee before his paws.

Splikvin slowed from gallop to walk as they entered a cooler part of the forest. _Too cool_, Harry thought.

They all became human and began to look for the dementor. All they really had to do was follow the frosty path of dead plants and frozen streams.

When Sirius, Remus, and Alex began to pale Harry knew they were close. He felt something, a cold touch, probing his mind. "Professor?" he asked quietly.

"Not me," she replied, then tapped the side of her head, "I feel it to; the dementor's near, very."

Suddenly, Alex fell to her knees. Harry rushed over and caught her before she fell over completely. He put an arm around her while drawing his wand.

"Look out!" Sirius yelled, pointing behind Remus.

Moony fired a patronous, and his phoenix began to fly around the dementor, keeping it in its place. "Selena?" he called.

She drew her wand and hissed, _"Expecto patronum_." A werewolf of pure silver, not white-silver, came out and ran at the dementor.

The creature released a horrible scream, filled with agony and anger. Harry felt something bombard his mind's defenses. Remus and Sirius covered their ears with the hands, faces cringing with pain; Alex fell unconscious.

Splikvin's patronous tore at the dementor; Harry aimed and hissed, "_Expecto patronum_." His solid, silver stag charged the dementor, and tore it in two.

The screams stopped, and Harry's defenses were no longer being attacked. The dark, tattered robe that had covered the dementor fell to the ground—empty.

Harry picked up Alex in his arms after pocketing his wand. "Why didn't it hurt me?" he asked.

Splikvin helped Sirius and Remus get to their feet, her eyes betraying her worry, then answered. "You're an Occlumens; dementors feed off your good memories, they have to find them first for your bad ones to surface."

"Do you think it'll do the same for the big dementors? The Parsloz patronous, I mean."

Splikvin shook her head. "Sadly, no. If it took two of ours to stop this one, I doubt it. We could try though."

Harry nodded, and his pendent pulsed, as did the others', signaling an Order meeting. "See you at H.Q." he said, and teleported away. After placing Alex in the Infirmary with Hedwig standing guard, Harry teleported to the meeting room.

Those who worked at the Ministry were absent, since they were in the middle of registering their animagus forms.

Tallon sat down next to Ron as Draco began his report. "I've found out how the new dementors came to be," he said, "The Dark Lord takes normal dementors and adds a spell on them—it creates a void of sorts."

"A void of what thought?" asked Charlie.

"A void of patroni," Draco answered. Murmurs swept through the room.

When Draco continued, the voices stopped. "What I mean by that is this: the other Death Eaters cast the patronous charm, and the void sucks them in, much like dementors suck the souls out of their victims.

"They feed off good feelings, off happy memories. The Patronous Charm worked because the patronous contained too _much_ feeling for the dementors to take."

"Like a computer overload," Hermione said.

Draco raised an eyebrow. "I suppose so…anyway, now that the void has—expanded a patronous on longer works, it is absorbed by the dementor instead of repelling it. In contrast to the feelings they bring and their role in the war, these new dementors are—in a way—solely made of good feelings."

"Never thought I'd heard 'good feelings' and 'dementors' in the same sentence," Sirius remarked grimly; others nodded their agreement.

"Did you find out any hints as to how to stop them?" McGonagall asked.

"No. Only the Dark Lord knows how to control them."

"Herms is onto somthin'," Ron murmured to Harry.

Harry looked at his other best friend, and saw that her brow was furrowed in concentration, her eyes searching for something in the empty air in front of her.

He nudged the twins, telling them to be quiet; to his surprise, they were. Soon, all the conversation had stopped and Hermione got up and began to pace, unaware of the others' attention.

She was muttering something to herself, too quiet for anyone to understand, and in a different language, it sounded like. She seemed to be quoting something. Then, into the silence she shouted, "That's _IT_!"

"Eureka!" Harry added dryly; no one but Remus, Splikvin, and Hermione seemed to get it.

"What is '_it_'?" Snape asked boredly.

Hermione started to pace again, repeating louder what she'd been muttering.

"The Shadow of Set?" Splikvin said in surprise. Hermione nodded. Harry looked around but only Dumbledore appeared to understand.

"Ummm—Herms?" Ron said, "Not all of us understand gibberish."

She flushed, "It's not _gibberish_ Ronald, it's _Egyptian_." She stopped pacing and began to explain. "The new dementors absorb good feelings and memories, and bring out the bad. The ancient Egyptians had guardians similar to that, ones that stayed in the tombs of the vilest criminals.

"Now, in order to keep them there, they had to be able to control them. A spell was created, it was called the Shadow of Set, an Egyptian god of evil. The Egyptians believed that the Guardians trapped the person's soul within the tomb, keeping them from going on to the Afterlife. So, they also believed that the spell came from _their_ soul.

"Seeing as how the Guardians are the absence of bad, the spells, the Challengers—as the Egyptians called them—were the absence of good. When faced with each other, they held each other in check." Her eyes lit up. "You see? The way to stop theses new dementors is to create the Challengers—beings without good!"

"That sounds kind of—well, _evil_." Neville said.

"Dementors are evil, but they're made of good," Harry reminded him, "Just because something isn't light, doesn't mean it's bad—it's the castor who decides that."

"So, what spell makes the Challengers?" Sirius asked.

Hermione frowned. "That's the part I'm not sure about. The Book of Spirit, which is where the legend of the Guardians and Challengers comes from, says something about 'the dwellers within the dark-sided soul,' but I don't know what that means."

"Does it say anythin' else?" asked Dung.

Hermione tapped her chin in thought, "The sentence after that mentioned something about 'that which both hides and seeks, which we would both desire to forget and flee.' Then something—oh….something about 'it vanishes in rain and at night—both when it is at its might.' Something along those lines."

"Whatever _that_ means," Ron grumbled.

Then, Snape and Splikvin looked at each other and said, "Shadows."

"Come again?" Sirius said.

"It was talking about shadows," Splikvin explained, "Part of an old riddle, apparently _very_ old."

"Which is?" he prodded.

Snape began to recite the riddle Splikvin had said almost a year ago. "'Only one color but not one size; stuck at the bottom yet easily flies. Present in sun, but not in rain; doing no harm and feeling no pain.'"

Splikvin explained it further. "The Book of Spirit was talking about the third verse. What the Challengers are, are the shadows of someone's soul."

"Any ideas what those are?" Bill asked.

"Bad feelings," Ron said, "Bad memories. Put them together, add a spell, and what do you get?" They starred at him. "A dark patronous," he finished with a hint of smugness.

Hermione beamed at him, "Brilliant Ron!"

The twins clapped, "Joy, o joy! Ickle Ronnikins solved it!" He shot them a glare and they stopped, but kept grinning.

"Any clue what th' incantation is?" Dung asked sleepily.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "If it's a patronous, it should be the same either way, dark or light."

"Let's try it out, shall we?" Remus said, drawing his wand.

"Bad memories should be forgotten," Draco muttered, but only Harry heard.

Silently, Tallon agreed. Nonetheless, he drew his wand, recalling memories of the Dursleys, the final task of the Triwizard Tournament, and the Department of Mysteries.

The room was filled with shouts of "_Expecto patronum!_" some shaky, others confident. Despite the many voices, only a few patroni appeared: Harry's, Draco's, Sirius', Remus', George's, Splikvin's, and Snape's.

At first, Harry didn't recognize the stag. When he did, he stumbled back a step.

The patronous was the essence of black. Its body was solid, and its muscles rippled with each movement, no matter how small. Its ribs pressed against its skin, but a powerful aura surrounded it nonetheless. Its antlers were proud and seemed cruelly sharp, its hooves more deadly. The body was tensed and thin, as if the stag was preparing for something. As it looked at Harry, he saw that its eyes were even darker, if that was possible. They seemed to go on forever, black, bottomless pits, void of any light, of any hope, seemingly of any life at all—they were shadows of death. Harry was cold, very cold. But it wasn't the air around him that was chilled, but inside of him. Harry no longer felt that comfort he usually did when seeing Prongs. _It's _not_ Prongs,_ he argued silently, _Prongs doesn't look like that. _His thoughts had a ring of both truth and lie.

Tallon mentally dismissed the Challenger, it reared back before vanishing in a wisp of dark smoke that also vanished. The others dismissed their Challengers as well and sat down. Harry noticed that Sirius was extremely pale, George and Remus were shaking, Draco's brow was damp, and Snape and Splikvin were determinedly expressionless. _They must have used their worst memories,_ Harry thought, _I wonder what would happen if I did too…_

The others continued to try the charm, but those who'd done it once already did not.

Harry didn't want to see _that_ Prongs again any time soon.

**Coming Up:**

'We can't help'

Basilisks

**Then:**

The Parsletongue Duel

**Review Response:**

**WildRaven:**_ Well, the Final Battle will take place in this installment as promised, and it will happen after Harry's birthday. What the exact date is, I won't tell you. That would ruin the suspense grin. As for Alex, I am not quite sure just yet. I have the main outline for the story, but not all the details._

**Disclaimer: **Yet again, I did not come up with the riddle about shadows, thank you.


	16. The CoS All Over Again

**Chapter 16**

Harry went to the Infirmary once the meeting was over to check on Alex. She was still sleeping so Harry remained there for the night.

The next morning, he took her home after breakfast. Harry succeeded in getting Snape out during Occlumency two times, and almost succeeded the third time. Right when they ended, Splikvin alerted Snape through his pendant of an attack. Harry was forced to stay behind due to the splitting headache he'd gotten from practice.

He waited anxiously at Headquarters, wondering if the new dementors were there, and if anyone was getting hurt. All his friends were out there except Ginny. She challenged him to a practice duel. Harry agreed, figuring it would get his mind off things.

Apparently Ginny had picked up a few things from watching their lessons; she was pretty good. Harry disarmed her five times in the hour they practiced, and they stopped when the others returned.

He teleported to the cabin in the States and got some of the potions stored there, then returned and gave them to the people who needed them.

"No dementors," Padfoot told him as Harry healed a cut on his shoulder. "Scum bags only, and no casualties."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief.

* * *

In the following three days, the 'no casualties' would change to too many.

Voldemort's army attacked each day in groups. The first was Death Eaters and both types of dementors. Although Harry and Splikvin destroyed many of the normal dementors, and the Challengers halted the Guardians, over twenty people lost their souls, and seven died. Harry still couldn't get the sounds of the dementors' screams out of his mind when he went to bed.

The second attack was a group of chimeras and minotaurs that rampaged Hogsmede; the Ministry and the Order managed to drive them back, but just barely—there were losses on both sides. _That's war,_ Harry often thought bitterly that day.

The third attack was the deadliest yet: basilisks in London.

They came in waves. First one, then three, then seven—soon there were fifteen of the monsters slithering around, murdering those of non-magic blood.

Harry had been visiting Alex in the park when the first basilisk came. He sent her to The Hideaway despite her protests, then immediately contacted the rest of the Order. "Stay hidden!" Sirius' voice commanded.

So Harry was forced to wait anxiously for the others to arrive while he paced the roof of a house which he had apperated onto. Each scream pierced Harry's soul. He could feel the basilisks' fangs sinking into their victims; see the horror on the muggles' faces when they met the serpents' eyes.

Finally, Harry heard several other people apperate behind him. He turned around and drew his wand in one swift movement—it was a few members of the Order. "'Bout time," he grumbled, and began to walk towards the edge of the roof. "If we use mirrors we should be able to keep from looking at their eyes," he said, "And if we get through the windows, we can portkey the muggles-" he stopped, feeling a hand on his shoulder.

"Tallon," Sirius began.

"What?" he demanded, noticing the tone of voice.

"We can't help them."

Harry's face drained of color. "Can't _help_ them?" he repeated. Padfoot nodded sadly.

"It'd be suicide."

"How in Merlin's name can we _no t— HELP_— _them_?" Harry managed to keep his elemental magic in check, while the rest flared. He could feel his aura strengthening, pressing on everything near him—then it became visible.

Sparks of gold, red, black, copper, and blue surrounded him, growing as his anger did. Remus, Tonks, and his friends stepped back. "We are the ones who _know _what is going on!" Harry growled, voice rising in volume. "Because of one of _our_ kind—Voldemort—those _people_ are being _SLAUGHTERED!_ And do you know why? Because of _me!_ Voldemort knows I won't just stand here and watch innocents get murdered—and you know what?_ I'm—NOT."_ Harry turned back around and took another step, Sirius grabbed his arm. "Tallon, you can't fight those basilisks!"

Harry glared at him, "Yes I can. Maybe I can't win, and maybe I _can_ win. But I can and I _will_ help those muggles if it's the last thing I do!"

"Tallon, you'll _die!_"

"Maybe yes and maybe no," he hissed, "But I've got a better chance than those people down there do. Sorry Padfoot, but I won't stand aside and wait for Voldemort to kill every last one of them."

Sirius tightened his grip on Harry's arm, which made Tallon glower. "No," Padfoot said firmly.

Harry shook his head sadly, "Sometimes having a Slytherin side is a good thing," he said, and transformed into a cobra.

Padfoot's hand closed on empty air, and before anyone could realize what had happened, Harry was off the roof and flying through the air as a phoenix.

He pulled his aura back into him, it would only get him spotted quicker—something he couldn't afford right now. Tallon heard a basilisk in the house next to him and he flew inside. He saw a muggle family of five cowering in the corner of their living room as the basilisk advanced.

Harry blazed into the room and attacked the serpent from behind. He first took out its eyes, his talons sinking in and tearing through the soft material; he took no damage from the acidic blood that sprayed like an overripe berry.

With that done, he jumped onto the back of the basilisk and became human. "_Salithren Excalibera._" He whispered, holding onto the wildly thrashing snake with all his might.

Salazar's sword appeared in his left hand, and he drove it into the basilisks head. It screamed, thrashing harder before dropping to the ground with a thud that shook the house.

Harry jumped off and turned to the people. "Stay in here," he commanded, "There are more. Make as little noise as possible, talk only if you must. Beware people dressed in black robes and white masks." They nodded and he became a phoenix once more, then found the next basilisk.

He came in just as the giant serpent killed a man with its gaze. Harry flew straight for it. Quickly he destroyed its eyes, barely escaping its fangs. Once it was blinded, Harry became human and summoned the sword once more, and quickly killed the serpent. Salazar had been right, the sword moved to strike whenever Tallon needed to.

Three more he killed before coming to the bigger problem. Six basilisks had surrounded a group of screaming things—children, no more than seven at most. Tallon was consumed by fury, Voldemort dared to kill those younger than him, those who were helpless, having done no wrong except for merely being _alive_.

Harry dove with a screech, aiming for the largest one. He tore out its eyes, and slashed it across the face. He called his totems together and lashed out at the two serpents that came for him. Tallon had his eyes firmly shut, relying on his other sense to guide him; and guide him they did.

A basilisk screamed as Harry's claws raked across its eyes; Tallon covered the four children with his body to protect him from the thing's stinging blood.

"_BE GONE!_" he roared. To his surprise, his voice came out as a hiss—Parsletongue.

The basilisks halted, surprise overcoming them as well.

_'Who are you that could command usss asss the Shadow?_' asked one.

Harry kept his eyes firmly shut. "_Tallon is my name. Tell me, what has the Shadow promised you?"_

_'Food, freedom, power,_' they answered unanimously.

Tallon snorted, _"And what have you gotten?"_ he asked scornfully, then answered his own question. "_Death."_

_"By you,"_ another retorted angrily.

"_Yes, by me. By me because I protect those who have done nothing wrong. And I will continue to fight until they are safe. You are powerful creatures, yet you serve a mortal wizard for something he has not given. By all these mortals you have slain today, how many have you fed from?"_

_"None," _came the hesitant reply.

"_Why waste the time, the energy, the strength, doing something which has no profit? Only death?_" They shifted uneasily, choosing not to answer. "_All I ask is that you leave this place, return to your homes and I will not take any more of your lives. Not as long as I am not defending myself or those who are innocent, and you are not killing for sport. What do you say?_"

"_How long mussst we be gone?_" a smaller one asked.

"_Until this war between the Shadow and other mortals ends,"_ Tallon answered, "_I cam get you out of here safely, but you must not kill; agreed?"_

There were some hissing murmurs among the basilisks. Some seemed unwilling, but after a larger one snapped and snarling at them, they slouched in defeat. Finally, they stopped conversing. "_Agreed,_" said the largest remaining one. "_Lead ussss out._"

The basilisks turned away, letting Harry out. Tallon nudged the kids under him gently towards the opening. Some of them pet him before running, others sprinted with all their might. "_This way,"_ he said, and began to lead the serpents towards the outskirts of the city.

When he ran, they slithered faster—pretty fast in Harry's opinion. He led them away until the town disappeared from view. "_Good luck,_" he told them, "_I hope next time we meet it will be on more friendly terms._"

"_Farewell Tallon,"_ they replied, "_One who fights the Shadow._"

Harry nodded and ran back towards London. When he could no longer see them, he became human and apperated back. He appeared on the roof he'd started on and found that some of the Order was still there: Tonks, Hermione, Ron, Splikvin, and Kingsley.

"Harry!" Hermione screeched, "What happened to you?"

Harry looked at his cloths and saw blood splattered all over them. "Basilisks," he answered simply/

"You're dead mate," Ron told him.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Trouble—Lupin's freaking out, and Sirius had to be knocked out to keep him from going after you; plus, Dumbledore's really frustrated, kept muttering to himself about choices and trust."

Harry sighed, "Sirius shouldn't have tried to stop me."

"I'm surprised he did," Ron admitted, "No offense mate, but you were kinda, well—_scary_."

Harry shrugged, trying to keep his face from hardening. "Innocent people shouldn't be slaughtered in a war they know nothing about."

Even if they didn't say it, Harry could tell that the others agreed with him. _And that's all we need,_ he thought.

* * *

**Coming Up:**

Parsloz Duel

St. Mungos

**Then:**

The-Boy-Who-Lived

* * *

**Review Response:**

**MinorMistake99:**_ You've got it._

**Archer: **_I am sad to say, no, there will not be a fourth installment. As for the other question, you will have to wait and see. Maybe yes and maybe no._


	17. Don't Hold Back

**Chapter 17**

'Dead' was an understatement.

Sirius and Remus held nothing back when they ranted at Harry for running off to fight. Yes, they'd allowed him to join the Order. Yes, he had promised to protect others. But they had _not_ said he could risk his life foolishly.

"And you never did?" he responded coolly.

"We were younger then," Remus answered irritably.

"Yeah, younger as in _my age_," Harry said firmly, "Or even younger." The conversation ended just like that, neither Sirius nor Remus could think of a suitable reply.

Harry received only a reproachful look from Dumbledore, no words of criticism or worry, just that one look. Harry went back to The Hideaway to clean up, he was starting to smell. His jeans were ruing, coated with a mix of sweat and blood, and numerous tears revealed shallow, but not dangerous, cuts. He healed those, then took a shower. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get the grime out of his hair. With a sigh, he cut it back to the short length he'd had it for most of his life. It actually wasn't that bad looking. The three stripes in his hair looked better short than long.

Harry also noticed something else: he didn't look the same. Yes, his hair still stuck up in the back, and he still had his mother's eyes, but he wasn't a mirror image of James anymore. His chin was sharper, his shoulders had broadened, he was tanner, and his nose was straighter than before. _Weird_, he thought, but left it at that.

After checking up on Alex, receiving a scold from her as well, and taking her to dinner, Harry scouted London in his phoenix form. He breathed a sigh of relief; no trouble was happening.

In fact, there was absolutely no trouble the next day either. Draco told Harry it was because Voldemort was trying to find the basilisks again, and who had killed some of them—Voldemort was livid. Harry didn't let that put a dampener on his mood, and ignored it. Since Sirius and Remus were still a bit 'off', Harry went back home and practiced the founders' spells for the rest of the day—he'd only really practiced Helga's and Salazar's.

Voldemort must have either given up on the basilisks, or found more, because trouble sprang up the next day. Almost every Auror's family had to go into hiding, due to the several attacks they'd suffered under Death Eaters. The Order played a part in helping the Ministry come up with places to put them. Because even if they used the Fideleus Charm, it didn't mean Voldemort couldn't blow up the entire area around where he knew they live, as he had done to one family—few things could stop something like that from harming somebody.

Harry released his bitter anger at Voldemort during training. In Occlumency, he managed to get Snape out after only five minutes—a record for him; of course, it left them both with extreme headaches. In the Auror Class, Harry finally when up against Splikvin.

When she put up Parsloz shields around their platform, Harry got suspicious. "What're those for?" he asked.

"Any stray spells," she answered.

"We've been practicing accuracy for three weeks now!" he protested, "And you _still _think I'll miss?"

She grinned. "I _know_ you'll miss; hopefully, so will I."

He starred at her, thoroughly confused. "Huh?"

Splikvin laughed. "Just duel Harry, no holding back."

Harry nodded, and on the count of three, they began.

Neither of them fired at first, watching the other. Then, it was a flurry of Parsloz spells. Harry ducked, swerved, jumped, and dropped, fighting to keep from being hit. He fired back, causing her to do the same. Calling up her anger at Voldemort's slaughtering of fifty muggles in one explosion to get an Auror family, Harry vented it out at Splikvin. It gave him greater speed, greater power, and greater evasion. Now he understood what she meant by '_I know you'll miss; hopefully, so will I_,' they were both moving too fast for their spells to hit.

Harry blocked her flame hex, and returned with an ice-needle curse of his own. The storm of miniature icicles flew at her; Splikvin reflected them back.

Harry turned them to water with his elemental abilities and pushed it towards her side of the platform. Splikvin cleaned it up with a quick charm as Harry cast a stunner. It hit the opposite wall; she'd turned into a thestral and jumped over it.

Tallon responded by becoming a werewolf; they charged at each other. Harry lashed out with a paw at her foreleg. Splikvin swatted him across his snout with a wing. Harry toppled backwards but scrambled to his feet. He sprang onto her bang, holding on as she bucked. "_Claws are fine!_" she reprimanded him, "_That's whatmy scales are therefor!_" Then she bucked him off.

Harry slammed into one of the shields and quickly regained his footing; he charged again, becoming a chimera. Splikvin jumped into the air and Harry tried to stop, claws digging into the wood, tearing up splinters. She circled overhead, and Harry turned human, then called up some wind. He pulled the wind down, and Splikvin with it. She also became human, and threw a curse at him despite the wind.

Harry's concentration broke as he ducked and Splikvin conjured up a chair, then proceeded to attack him with it. "_Godera Contego!_" Harry said, the shield appeared and he blocked the legs of the offending chair.

Splikvin's eyes widened for a moment, then she grinned. "_Salithren Excalibera."_ She said, and the sword appeared in place of the chair. _Block!_ Harry thought to the shield.

His arm moved and halted the oncoming sword. His arm felt completely separated from his body, but at least he could still cast spells. He fired off stunners, freezers, hexes, jinxes, anything. The sword nicked him on his wand arm; Harry growled in frustration. "_Finto!_" he shouted the cancelling spell Rowena had taught him; the shield and sword both disappeared and they resumed exchanging spells.

Sweat began to drip into his eyes; it already plastered his shirt to his back. His breath came in quiet gasps; they must have been fighting for at least an hour. Through the shields he noticed that the others had finished and were watching.

"Harder or easier?" Splikvin asked, ducking his stunner.

"Bit harder," Harry replied, "Any spell."

"You sure?" she asked, then shot a jelly-legs.

"I'm sure—it's not like Voldemort'll hold back, or any of his followers either."

She nodded. "True. You can use any spell too. Bone-breakers, burns, pain spells, anything."

Harry wondered if the fumes from all the potions were getting to her had, but he nodded. "Alright."

The duel took on a new ferocity, with both of them getting new energy out of seemingly no where. He fired small pain curses, which she returned; neither of them received a reaction even when they hit the other. He got her arm with a burn hex, she got his knee with a cutting curse. Harry used his patronous to escape an unknown jinx, which caused both to vanish. Then, the space within the shields began to fill with water. Soon enough, it was up to Harry's neck. He fought to keep from panicking, how had the other champions breathed during the task? _That's it!_ Harry thought, and cast the bubble head charm on himself.

Once it was past his head, Harry heard Hermione screech. Harry swam up to the surface and looked for Splikvin. Sure enough, the pale, ivory fin of a shark was coming towards him. The music from the movie 'Jaws' sprang up in his mind and Harry couldn't help laughing; Moody and Tonks looked at him like he was nuts.

Harry ducked under the water and waved cheerily at the hammerhead Splikvin. Even though Tallon was unnerved by the ten foot long shark with too many razor sharp teeth for a _dementor's_ comfort, but he didn't let it show as Splikvin swam closer.

_Is she going to bite my leg off or something?_ He thought wryly, _Snape definitely would._ He gripped his wand firmly.

Splikvin turned sharply at Harry braced himself, and whacked him with her tail. The force was like a bludger in the ribs, and sent him tumbling backwards head over heels. Tallon slammed into the shields and became a chimera. His bubblehead charm was still workings, so he swam towards his opponent with surprising speed. Tallon slashed at Splikvin with a paw, she darted away. Harry followed, and jumped on top of her back when he was in range.

His ears picked up the sound of a scream—Hermione or Ginny—as they wrestled. Splikvin executed several barrel rolls, making him dizzy and snapping at Harry as she thrashed wildly, smacking him with her tail when she could. Harry clung tighter, trying to stop her movement. Her dorsal fin jabbed him in his stomach, then a pressure point Tallon hadn't known about. He would have turned grey if he was normal when her fin stabbed him where his werewolf and cobra parts joined. He let go with a pained roar, and Splikvin was away in a flash, smacking him with her tail for what seemed to be the millionth time. _That's it,_ Harry thought savagely, massaging his beak. He became human, swam hurriedly to the surface, and whispered a charm that made the water disappear.

He fell to the ground and fired a flaming hex at the now-human Splikvin. She dodged, and fired a mild pain curse.

The water had cooled him off, but also soaked his clothing; his wet jeans made it hard to move and that touch of slowness made all the difference. After a few minutes, Harry noticed that Splikvin was starting to look different. She seemed paler, her cloak was darking anddidn't seem to makeany noise, andher hair didn't have one strand out of place—something odd for a person who was jumping and skidding out of the way of jinxes; he got her with a bone breaker on the wrist.

As Tallon fired a lightning curse, she jumped—and didn't come back. He saw her holding onto the wall, and then she disappeared. Frantically, Harry looked around but couldn't find her, even with the special lenses. _"Finitae incantantum,_" he whispered, she didn't appear.

The hairs on the back of his neck prickled, and Ron let out a yell of surprise. Harry spun around and found a knife an inch from his throat.

"Hello," Splikvin said as she appeared with a grin, revealing very large canines. Harry instinctively kicked out, catching her in the shin. She jumped back, Harry followed. Forgetting his wand, Harry punched wildly. He aimed for her stomach and head, she dodged with inhuman speed. Harry's dagger jumped into his hand and he sliced at her with it. She smiled and slashed back.

One of his lucky shots got her on the shoulder, another on her face. He starred in shock as they began to heal themselves. His moment of hesitation allowed Splikvin to grab his wrist and throw him over her shoulder into the shields, he dropped both his wand and his knife.

The shield fell and Hermione screeched again, "_Harry!_" Tallon couldn't look away from Splikvin's pale face, her teeth here much too sharp to be normal. "And why don't you _normally_ duel that hard?" She asked, lowering her own knife; he didn't seem able to answer.

"Y-you're a vampire?" Sirius croaked.

Splikvin laughed, looking at their faces, Snape was the only one who didn't seem concerned, only amused. "No Sirius, don't worry."

"Then why are your teeth so bloody creepy!" Ron exclaimed.

Splikvin chuckled, "No pun intended I take it?" heflushed,"Good point though. I'm not a real vampire, it is one of my animagus forms."

"That makes absolutely no sense at all," Remus told her with a crooked smile. "That would mean you have..." he counted silentlt, "five forms."

"I am a polymagus," she explained with a shrug, Hermione's eyes widened. "Always have a trick up your sleeve, is what I say. The shark and thestral are forms I _chose _to become. The mare, bat, and vampire are those I recently found."

"But how can you be a vampire?" Tonks asked as Splikvin offered Harry a hand up. He took it warily, "They're part human."

Splikvin shrugged, "How come Sev and Harry are able to become werewolves?Werewolves are part human as well.ButI don't really know—I'm not the one who found this way of animagus training." She noticed that Ron was still watching her. "What is it?" she asked boredly.

"Do you need to drink blood?" he asked nervously.

She laughed, "No, I don't think I could do that—too odd for my tastes."

"No pun intended?" Sirius asked with a slight laugh.

She grinned, again showing those large teeth. Ginny squirmed, clearing her throat. Splikvin nodded and shifted back to human, then looked at Harry. "Back to my question: how come you don't duel that hard normally?"

Harry blinked at the sudden change of topic. "Not sure," he mumbled, "Guess I don't want to hurt anybody."

She tilted her head, showing him her broken wrist, "Does that not count?"

Now it was his turn to squirm, "But you're better at dueling than I am, I know it won't hurt you _that _much, not like if I did that to someone else, like one of my friends, or a muggle."

She nodded. "What about Voldemort and his followers?"

He ignored the flinches some of the others gave. "Voldemort, I don't know yet; I probably would. But with the Death Eaters, it feels like I'm cheating… just because I'm faster, doesn't seem to make it right to hurt them."

"I doubt they think like that," Sirius commented.

"Huh?"

To everyone's surprise, it was Snape who answered. "Black is right, surprising as it is.The followers of the Dark Lorddo not care if someone is weaker than them. In fact, they enjoy it. Much like the Dark Lord enjoys torturing others."

"Don't hold back against the scum," Moody growled, "We go easy on them, but that only makes it harder for us, and gives them chances they wouldn't even think of giving us."

Harry nodded; he had a lot to think about all of a sudden.

_(A/N: Hope you enjoyed the chapter, it was fun to write)_

* * *

**Coming Up:**

St. Mungos

Surprises

**Then:**

The-Boy-Who-Lived

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**Review Response:**

**Dranix: **_Maybe yes and maybe no… _

**WildRaven:** _No, not always, but he does do it often, and usually when it's the worst time to do it._

**Snuffles629:** _Yes, it is part of Voldemort's plot. Remember, he doesn't know the complete prophecy, but he knows that Harry can defeat him. He's wants to wear Harry out or destroy him completely so that doesn't happen. Good question though, thank you for asking.

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_

_(A/N: The next chapter might be late, I'll try to make it so it's not, but I am just letting you know now. My apologies for the not-yet-certain-but-could-happen inconvenience._ _A.S.Leif)

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_


	18. St Mungos: Chaos vs Chaos

**Chapter 18**

_(A/N: Sorry about the delay, I would have posted this a few hours earlier, but I got locked out of my house after school, wonderful thing to do in the summer, especially when it's 90 F!)_

Draco warned them the following day that something big was going to happen, he just didn't know what.

And happen something did.

Remus came bursting into Headquarters, gasping for breath. "St. Mungos," he wheezed, "Attack."

Harry and his friends jumped up from the seats where they'd been playing gobstones. Tallon gave Remus a calming draught from his pocket—it looked like Moony wouldn't be catching his breath for a while. "You'd better stay with Draco," he told the werewolf.

"Not if you-"

"I'll be fine," Harry interrupted, and he teleported to the first ward that popped into his head—the Mind Recovery Ward.

To his surprise, he met the others there as well. Neville had his wand out, guarding the door. Hermione was talking hurriedly with the nurse, and Ron was glaring at Lockheart.

"Do you know how many there are?" Hermione was asking.

The nurse shook her head, trembling.

"Can we portkey the patients to a safer location?"

She nodded.

"We'll do that then." Hermione grabbed a sheet and muttered, "_Portus,_" it glowed green for a moment. "Get them all touching this," Hermione ordered the nurse. She obeyed, moving the patients towards the Longbottoms, who couldn't really move. Hermione looked at Ron, "Be careful," she told him.

"Stay safe Herms," he replied.

She nodded, "I'll be at Hogwarts," she said, and touched the sheet, leaving the three wizards alone in the room.

"Cloaking spells," Harry said, and the three became invisible. "I'll go first, wait for my signal." Tallon opened the door and swiftly exited. Looking around, he didn't see anyone. "See," he whispered, spells against fire, flooding, and apperation sprang into view. He whistled softly, and the door opened again. "We'll evacuate the other patients on the other levels, lowest first—get them out of danger—and transport them to Hogwarts, okay?"

"Sounds good," Neville whispered.

"Got it," Ron murmured.

They needed only to follow the sound of yells and screams. The Death Eaters had only made it to the second level. "Each of us take a room," Harry ordered in a whisper, he could still see the blurry-outlined forms of Ron and Neville.

"Teleport?" Neville asked, fingering his circular pendant.

"Yeah. Good luck, and be careful." They separated, Harry went to the third room. He uncloaked himself and informed the patients, as calmly as he could, about the situation. Some of them screamed, but Harry quickly silenced them. "I'll be taking you to Hogwarts," he said, "You'll be safe there." They nodded, and he got them all to hold hands, then teleported them away. The Infirmary was already full, and so Harry teleported them to the Great Hall. It had been enlarged, and rows and rows of beds had been added, Mme. Pomfrey was everywhere it seemed.

Hermione was calming the nurses and patients, establishing a tense sort of order. Harry told those with him to go lie down, and teleported away.

He met up with Ron and Neville once the level was cleared, and they went to the next. They transported at least three hundred people to the safety of Hogwarts from the hospital, then sprinted down to the third floor—the battle had moved.

"Good luck," Harry told his friends "See you soon." He shifted into a chimera.

Neville took dragon form, and Ron his thestral. The three of them roared and charged into the fray. Harry jumped in front of a pain curse sent at an Auror, reflecting it back at the dark castor. Ron knocked out two Death Eaters with his hooves as he reared. Neville swatted minotaurs away like they were flies, occasionally slicing them in two on accident—he had little room to maneuver.

Tallon's ear picked up the sound of '_Crucio!_, he searched frantically for the source—a Death Eater off to his right; with Sirius on the floor in front of him.

Harry leapt over the fight and melted into human form, then bellowed _"Sanctus!_" His shield reached out an enveloped Padfoot, cutting off the curse. A quick knock-out hex had the Death Eater on the ground. "You've gotta learn that one," he told Sirius breathlessly, helping the older wizard to his feet.

"I tried," he croaked, "Wouldn't work."

Harry blocked an incinerating curse, and returned with a Parsloz lightning hex. "Is anybody still on the lower floors?"

Sirius shook his head, "No one alive."

Harry's throat caught. Murdering sick, injured people was worse than torture for him. "I'd get outta here," he growled.

Sirius' face paled at the pure rage on his godson's face. "Tallon," he began.

"What?"

"Don't turn out like them."

Harry blinked. Sirius was afraid he would turn dark, heartless, cruel… a murderer. "Don't worry—none of them are going to die by me."

Padfoot nodded and ran to find the other Order members, Harry's shield still firmly surrounding him.

Harry began to call up his elemental magic once he had cloaked himself. He closed his eyes, and began to fight the chaos with his own.

Wind sprang up from nowhere, trapping Death Eaters' arms to their sides. Water appeared, dousing any flames that had been set, soaking everyone's robes. The ground beneath the minotaurs liquefied, sucking them like quicksand down to their knees before it hardened just as suddenly, trapping them.

Some of the Death Eaters fled. Those who dissaperated escaped Harry's grip, those who ran outside through the emergency exits found snares made of roots waiting for them. Wands came alive, bursting to splinters with the raw magic Harry put into them.

All through the sudden change of tide, not one Auror was touched.

Harry opened his eyes, and saw that only about seventeen minotaurs and thirty Death Eaters remained prisoner, another five were trapped outside. The members of the Order had vanished.

Harry allowed his invisibility charm to fade for a moment as one Death Eater looked in his direction. He recognized Pansy Parkinson's eyes, sneering at him from behind the mask. "_Potter!_" she snarled, fighting against the wind that held her frozen.

Harry merely nodded. "I am sorry about this war," he said quietly, and told the wind to not let them go until it was safe, then he vanished once more before anyone else could spot him.

* * *

He appeared at Hogwarts, where the Great Hall was overflowing with Ministry workers, patients, doctors, and nurses. The smell of sweat and blood was overpowering, the muggy heat of too many bodies in one place was unbearable; Harry felt sick, it reminded him too much of his capture.

"Never become a healer mate," Ron's voice said from behind him, "They've gotta do this every bloody day."

Tallon noticed the bandages and salves Ron was carrying. "You don't feel—sick?"

"Nope, I kinda like it—not the injured people," he amended quickly, "Just—being able to help; you know?"

"yeah," Harry smiled, "I can see it now: 'Doctor Ron Fenris Weasley: World-Renowned Healer Extroardinaire!'"

Ron chuckled, "Whatever Tallon." A loud bellow sliced over the din.

"How can you be _out_? You run a _hospital_ for Merlin's sake! Don't you have storehouses?"

Harry and Ron looked a few feet to their left, where the head table had formerly been. Splikvin was the one who'd yelled, her victim was a wizard with blonde hair, dressed in a healer's robes.

"We weren't expecting a full-scale attack!" he bellowed back. "They destroyed the stores we had in the building!"

"God dammit! With Vold-" Snape cut her off with a hand over her moth.

"We will make some, but I doubt it will be enough." He told the healer, "See Poppy, she knows where some of the more potent supplies for the school are kept." The healer left after a hasty thank-you and a glare at Splikvin.

"We're going to need help," Splikvin told her brother sourly, "Even you and me can't make enough for these people!"

He nodded. "I am aware of that. Look for someone, I will find Miss Granger."

Splikvin ran a hand through her hair as her twin left. "I hate having to rush," she muttered, then looked up. Harry noticed that Ron slipped away as her gaze turned in their direction.

"Can I help?" Harry asked.

She sighed. "I don't know. Can you?"

He nodded. "I can help."

She gestured to the hall. "I definitely hope so. Let's go; we've got to make enough potions for a little over three-hundred people, some with critical conditions, and from scratch. It'll be a miracle if everyone makes it; St. Mungos won't be running for a while."

Harry left with his defense professor, glad to be out of the sick-smelling hall, while wondering why in the world he had just condemned himself to spending who-knew-how-long, stuck in the dungeons with Snape. Occlumency was one thing, potions was another.

Hopefully Splikvin and Hermione could keep them from killing each other.

* * *

**Coming Up:**

Potions Extravaganza

A Pureblood in a Muggle House?

**Then:**

The-Boy-Who-Lived

(_It's always in the 'then' section isn't it? Sorry about that!)

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	19. Me? Tired? Never!

**Chapter 19: Part I**

_(A/N: Long chapter people, just a notice)_

Splikvin led him down past the potions classroom and past the Slytherins' hidden entrance to their common room. It got darker, with no torches or portraits, and dust was beginning to form on the floor. _This isn't on the Marauders' Map,_ Harry thought with confusion, looking around at the pillars lining the hall.

Splikvin ran her hand along the wall, counting with each step she took. At step ninety-one, she stopped. Pressing her hand to the pillar she said, "Serpenditonas Polyrhythmics Individuality."

Harry starred at her, thinking she'd gone nuts again. That changed when the pillar did though. The snakes carved in the stone slithered around, faster and faster, their onyx eyes glinting. Then, a soft green light shone around Splikvin's hand, and the black pillar disappeared, leaving a serpent statue in its place. "Password?" it asked in English.

"Serpent's fire," she replied.

The large black snake nodded and opened its mouth, revealing to very large, very sharp silver fangs. Splikvin stuck her hand in it, poking the palm of her hand on one of them, drawing a pinprick of blood. After she removed her hand, a green flame appeared in the statue's eyes, and it uncoiled into an 's' shape, revealing an iron door.

"Come on," Splikvin told him, putting a hand on the doorknob.

"Salazar Slytherin's _workroom_?" Hermione's voice said in an awed whisper.

Harry turned and saw his bushy-haired friend following Snape, her eyes wide

"Yeah," Splikvin answered, "You won't be able to tell anyone of it; get in Harry."

He went through the door she held open, then she followed; the door shut right after. "What happened?" he asked.

"Only descendants of Salazar can gain entrance," she explained, "And purebloods at that. We can only bring in one person: I brought you, Sev will bring Hermione. This way."

Harry followed her down the black marble hallway; silver-flamed torches sprang into life as they walked down the hall. At the end was a large room, its walls covered with hundreds of shelves, which held thousands of carefully stored ingredients, many of which Harry didn't recognize. Bright crystals were the light source in here, and the stone somehow reflected it, making the black stone look less dark and more like a night sky.

Glass doors led the way to more storerooms and one to a greenhouse; a third led to an underwater passageway.

"Is that-" he began, then stopped.

"The lake?" Splikvin finished dryly, "Yes; that passage leads to Salazar's former underwater observatory, I believe the giant squid can be seen from it—rather close too." Harry shuddered. Splikvin tossed him an emerald green robe. "Put that on, it's resistant to just about everything." She pointed to one of the worktables, which was large enough to host three cauldrons at once, had several cutting boards, a sink, a stool, and a set of utensils for each cauldron. "You'll be working there; I'm on your left. Sev will be on your right, and Hermione on his." Harry noticed that the tables the professors would be working at stations which held at least seven cauldrons, with room for two more--otherwise they were the same as his.

Snape and Hermione entered as Splikvincreated a list of the potions Harry would make on a chalkboard in front of his station. "This will be worse than NEWTs," she warned, "We don't have time for mistakes."

"Yes Professor," Harry and Hermione answered.

"Think of the ingredient and it will come," Snape informed them, getting two cloaks for himself and Hermione, "If you tell the cauldrons specific stirring instructions, they will follow them. The slightest mispronunciation, however, will cancel that."

"So don't do it wrong," Splikvin finished dryly, "Let's get going."

Harry immediately got started on the pain-relievers set to him: two for minor, and one for intense. He summoned the necessary ingredients for them all, and proceeded to dice, measure, pour, and double-check—he could do these ones in his sleep. Nevertheless, Harry made sure he didn't miss one thing, and set the timer for the first potion. He instructed the cauldron to stir the potionas required, then moved on to the next potion.

When he finished those three, they were immediately transported to the cooling- and store- room. Quickly, he scoured the cauldrons spotless, and began again. Tallon worked quickly, not opening his mouth once to speak unless it was to the cauldrons, afraid it might distract someone else.

Splikvin changed the list to one burn treatment, one swelling-reducer, and one coolant draught when he'd made five batches. These were slightly harder, but Harry got to work fast, summoning the things he needed without hesitation.

The hours passed quickly as the four worked. Though the stone room was cool, the heat of the cauldrons brought sweat to Harry's forehead. He wiped it away impatiently before starting on his next batch. When he needed to wait while the potions were stirred, he glanced at how the others were doing.

Hermione was fine, he noticed that she was doing the same set of potions as him. Snape and Splikvin, however, had no lists in front of them. His eyes widened at the speed they were working at. The two's hands quickly chopped and poured, they never measured—they didn't need to apparently. Harry saw nine cauldrons at each of their stations, they worked down the line, making sure nothing burned. Tallon also saw two cauldrons that were four times the size of regular ones, simmering a little ways away. He noticed that they didn't need timers either, and from the ingredients they summoned, Harry was able to identify the potions they were working on—one's he'd never think of _dreaming_ to try.

Tallon put his surprise and decision that he would never try for a potions master credential out of the way as one of his timers went of. He immediately began the next step.

* * *

They filled up half of one storeroom with about seventy batches of various potions. Harry and Hermione were grateful for the stools—they might have collapsed off their feet if they hadn't been able to sit once in a while. As the clock chimed nine pm, Snape told them to finish the batch they were on, then stop. After they finished, they began to pack the ones they'd made already. "But don't they need to cool?" Hermione asked, boxing up several bottles of pain-reliever.

"They already have," Snape answered.

"In these rooms, one hour is equivalent to one day," Splikvin explained, "A time-alteration charm."

Harry flinched, remembering last November. Snape saw, but said nothing. Tallon ducked his head to avoid the potion master's gazeand finished packing up burn-pastes.

They levitated the fifty boxes out of the room, returning to the Great Hall. The healers fell upon the boxes, rushing to give patients what they needed. The four of them left back to the dungeons, where they squeezed one more set in by ten-thirty, then called a halt. The two students were grateful, they were asleep on their feet practically. They left, instinctively making their way to Gryffindor Tower. Harry fell asleep before he knew it, but his bed didn't seem as soft as it used to be.

* * *

Tallon yawned, stretching his arms. He felt reenergized from the work they'd done last night. Blinking the sleep from his eyes, he thought he must be dreaming still—everything looked wrong.

The bed was made of wood that was too dark, and it wasn't a four-poster either. Glancing at his feet, he saw emerald green covers. Then it hit him: he was in the Slytherin Dormitories. _What the heck?_ He thought, and got up.

A set of his regular clothes was on the bed to his left, along with his boots, vest, wands, and dagger. Harry checked himself and noticed he was in his pajamas—nothing made sense.

He changed rapidly, putting everything on before heading down the spiral staircase to the common room. It was just like he'd remembered from second year, but the light came from glowing crystals instead of torches this time, and thus it didn't look as creepy.

Only moments later, Hermione came down from the girls' dormitory, wide-eyed as she looked at everything. Harry smothered a laugh when she missed the last step, nearly falling because of her surprise. "Are we where I think we are?" she squeaked.

He smiled in amusement, "How many places do you know that are in the dungeons, made of stone, and completely decked out in black, green, silver, and snakes?" he asked dryly.

"So in other words: yes?"

"Yeah," Harry pointed to the silver frame he'd made for the founder of the house, which hung on the wall between the two staircases, "See? Normally that's Salazar's frame."

Then a door next to the fireplace appeared and opened, and the two Snapes came out. Splikvin spotted them first and smiled slightly. "I doubted sleeping on the stone floor would be comfortable, so you're here."

Harry blinked. "Huh?"

"You two passed out quite a ways from Gryffindor Tower, and we aren't able to get into your tower anyway, so we brought you here." She explained.

"Oh—but how did our things get here?" Hermione asked.

"I picked yours up from Headquarters," replied Splikvin.

"Black and Lupin brought yours," Snape told Harry.

"Breakfast?" Splikvin asked, they nodded.

Several house elves appeared, and quickly created a table full of food. Splikvin got up when a knock sounded. She opened the door to the common room and Sirius and Remus came in. "Wow, you remembered." She teased sarcastically.

"Of course we remembered," Sirius replied, "It's hard to forget when your godson is sleeping in the Slytherin Dormitories."

"Relax Sirius," said Splikvin, "It's not as if we were going to kill either of them—give us credit for having _some_ heart! And I thought you were here to eat, not attack us for not leaving them to sleep on the floor." The two arrivals joined the others at the table.

"So, what were you doing?" Remus asked, looking at Hermione and Harry.

"Potions," they replied. "For the patients," Hermione added.

Remus conversed with them all politely, asking questions about the different potions they'd made, and telling them how the patients were doing. Part of the news was sad: seven people had died overnight. However, many of the people who'd had an accident with strange effects happen to them were sent home, cured by spells; roughly two-hundred and twenty people remained.

Sirius remained silent throughout the meal, with a brooding look on his face. Harry wondered what had made Padfoot look like that. Surely his sleeping in the Slytherin dormitories wasn't _that_ troubling. Harry's answer came in the form of a question. "Tallon," Padfoot said finally, "Where did the scars on your back come from?"

Harry flinched violently, "Don't wanna talk about it." He muttered, staring at his food—he wasn't hungry anymore.

"Tallon, please. It worries me; what happened?" Harry didn't answer. "It was Voldemort, wasn't it?" Sirius' face darkened, "Did Wormtail-"

"_I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT, ALRIGHT?_" Harry yelled; the bitter pain of recalling that time was too harsh for him. Jumping from his seat, Harry practically fled from the common room.

* * *

Sirius got up to follow after Harry, only to find Remus standing in the way. "Padfoot, you have _got_ to keep a leash on your questions!" he exclaimed, "Don't you realize Harry doesn't want to remember?"

"He's got to talk to _somebody!_" Sirius objected.

"I don't doubt that," Moony replied, "But forcing him to talk only makes it worse."

"How do you know? Moony, you and Harry aren't the same!"

"I know that," he sighed.

"Lupin is right." To everyone's surprise, the statement came from Severus; no one noticed Hermione slip out of the room via teleportation.

Sirius snorted, "You don't have any idea aboutwhat Harry feels like; how would you know?"

"I know enough to say that forcing someone to speak of something they do not wish to only makes it worse for both sides." Severus retorted stiffly, he didn't mention that Harry had told _him_ the prophecy and not them.

"Why should I believe you?" Sirius demanded, still trying to follow his godson.

"I can say the same," Selena sighed, "Please Sirius; let it go. And Harry _has_ told someone: the elements."

"How do you know that?" asked Remus.

"Smuck told me. Now please Sirius, give him time. Obviously he's not used to remembering it yet; he won't thank you, or anyone, for making him relive it—even in words."

Padfoot's shoulders slumped, "Fine."

* * *

Harry had stalked further down into the dungeons, not bothering to even cast a simple light spell as it got darker. He didn't want to admit that he was masking his fear with rage. He tried to keep his mind clear, void of any emotion, but it just wouldn't work. Unwanted tears formed, Harry couldn't keep them back. He didn't want to remember his capture, and he didn't want Sirius mad at him—what could he do?

Hermione's voice called out to him, it was dim though—she was far off. Nonetheless, Harry walked faster, blinded by rage, sorrow, and the battle to keep them under control. When he heard footsteps, he turned into a cobra, hoping the shadows would hide him.

He coiled up in a corner, feeling his body shudder—a snake's version of shedding tears. Warm hands picked him up, gently stroking his back. Harry didn't try to escape, his eyes were clamped shut. The person who held him began to hum quietly as they continued to pet him comfortingly. Harry's shuddering stopped, and after a few minutes he opened his eyes.

The person was pale, black-haired, and wearing green robes: it was Salazar. "_What happened Harry?"_ he asked quietly, _"I could feel you all the way at The Hideaway_."

"_I got frustrated,"_ Harry replied quietly, his voice somewhat shaking, "_I guess I was scared…I didn't want to talk about something, but Sirius wanted me to. I—I yelled at him…I shouldn't of, now he's going to hate me!"_ New shudders occurred, and Tallon couldn't say anything more.

Salazar watched the young snake as he walked, making his way to one of the many hidden rooms he'd made. _"He will not hate you,_" he said, "_It was foolish of him to push. Don't worry Harry, it will be fine. You just need time to adjust."_

He found the entrance, pressed the key stone with his foot, and went in. It was a glass room, with a soothing view of the lake, underwater of course. He sat in one of the green armchairs and looked back down at the snake in his hands. "_We all have things that trouble us Harry, and while talking about them does ease the pain eventually, we must be ready to talk first,"_ he shook his head, "_Otherwise, it will just increase the pain we feel. Think of it as making a potion: you don't try to make it until you are sure you know what to do, until you are comfortable with the ingredients and tools. If you are not, you become nervous, and make mistakes._"

Harry hissed a quiet chuckle, trust Salazar to compare emotions to potions. They were silent for a while, to Harry it felt like hours, for Salazar—and in reality—it was only minutes. "_Thanks Salazar,"_ Tallon hissed finally.

The founder nodded, "_No trouble Harry. Feel free to use this room at anytime, you should be able to find it again, if not, I can tell you._"

Harry nodded, and Salazar stood, "_I believe you are working on potions currently? For the newcomers in the Great Hall?_"

"_Yeah, I should get back actually; you don't mind us using your workroom, do you?_"

He chuckled, _"Not at all. Is there anything I might be able to assist with?_"

Harry thought about it,_ "Probably; we need just about everything I think."_

_"I will use my other workroom then, and make 'just about everything'._"

Tallon starred at him as the founder exited the room, "_Just how many secret rooms **did** you put into this place?"_

He grinned, "_Many Harry, many."

* * *

_

Harry met up with the other three just outside of Salazar's workroom, none of them said anything as they entered. They got to work immediately, and Harry foundthe quietsoothing.

They took a short break for lunch, then got back to making potions. Splikvin had assigned Harry some more advanced potions, and to use one of the larger cauldrons to make a larger batch of a certain antidote. Dinner came and went, and they returned to work. After packing up the day's potions, which were much greater in number than yesterday, and delivering them to the healers, they stopped. Harry didn't want to, ten more people had died and every moment they stopped meant another moment gone from someone's life.

"You need to sleep Potter," Splikvin replied firmly.

"I'm not tired though!" he objected, she wasn't listening. "I'm not tired…" he growled again under his breath.

He was about to protest aloud once more when Hermione tugged his arm. "Don't you realize that _they_ need rest?" she demanded in a whisper, motioning to the professors. "They're working three times as hard as us, if not more! I heard Madame Pomfrey talking to them; they've been up since three this morning, seeing what is needed! That means they've only gotten about three and a half hours of sleep! Yes, those people need help, but that help won't come if something happens to the Professors!"

Harry blinked, he hadn't thought of that. "Sorry," he muttered, and then remembered that Salazar had said he'd leave a note in Snape's office, mentioning where the potions he'd made were. _That's got to be at least fifteen more boxes,_ Tallon thought, recalling the speed Salazar often worked at The Hideaway. "Alright, let'sactually make it to our beds this time." Together they left, and teleported to Headquarters. Harry stayed the night in one of the many guest rooms, falling asleep once he'd reached the bed. His last thought was, _I guess I am a little tired…

* * *

_

**Coming Up:**

Part Two of Chapter 19

Chapter 20: The-Boy-Who-Lived

**Then:**

Bringing Back the Wards

* * *

**Review Response:**

**Wytil: **_About one, minotaurs only, but roughly fifty captured.

* * *

_

_(A/N: This installment WILL be finished by the time The Half-blood Prince comes out, just so everyone knows. Thanks **hay **for reminding me.)_


	20. Chapter 19: Part II

**Chapter 19: Part 2**

_(Happy Friday the 13th! A.S. Leif)_

When Harry woke up the next morning, around six am, he immediately went home and took a shower. After getting dressed, having a quick breakfast, and thanking Salazar again, he returned to Hogwarts and managed to arrive at the entrance to the workroom just as the others were getting there.

Today was the most challenging for Harry, Splikvin assigned him a set of potions that he recognized to be above NEWT level. He didn't mention it though, figuring she'd either forgotten or given them to him on purpose, to test his ability further. _And I thought we couldn't afford mistakes_, he thought with grim humor as he measured out the crushed beetle legs.

A few times Harry noticed Snape watching him, a slightly surprised look on his face; Harry fought hard not to smirk. When lunch came, Snape asked about it. "You haven't learned the last set of potions in class, where did you?"

Harry shrugged, "Over the last summer I practiced—a lot. Surprised?"

"No," Snape said immediately, Harry hid a grin.

Finally, at lunch, the patients were able to go back to St. Mungos—unfortunately there were twenty people who never did. There were very few extra potions, and the ones that were left went to St. Mungos. Harry and Hermione helped the professors to restock Hogwarts' regular supply until dinner.

* * *

An Order meeting occurred the following day, Draco had a message that wasn't to Harry's liking. "He's planning to send a group to get your girlfriend Harry, to get Alex," he said bluntly, Harry didn't blush at the statement, but paled. "She's been too much of a trouble in his opinion, and he thinks it's time she was dealt with. Around midnight is my guess, just about everyone is busy until then."

Harry started to get up, Remus put a hand on his shoulder. "We will go get her first Tallon, don't worry."

Harry settled back down, but was unable to pay attention to the rest of the meeting.

At six that evening, Harry, Mr. Weasley, Snape, and Remus left for Blurnof's Eyestore—it was empty. Harry dashed up the stairs, and knocked on Alex's door. No one answered. "Alex?" he called, "Alex! Are you there?" He knocked once more, then opened the door. He looked around, but didn't find her.

"What are you doing here?" Mr. Blurnof's voice asked.

Harry turned around, "Where's Alex?" he asked.

"At a friend's house, in muggle London," Blurnof answered, "Why? What's wrong?"

"Voldemort," Harry answered, "Where's the house she's at?"

His eyes widened, "A few blocks from the park, house number forty seven. I'll show you." The large man jogged down the stairs, startling the others. He unlocked a cabinet and pulled out a small paperweight, "Portkey to the safe house," he explained, "Meet me at the park."

Harry nodded and the man dissaperated, "See you there," he told the others, and teleported immediately.

Mr. Blurnof was standing next to one of the trees, and began to walk once he saw them come. Harry wanted to straight out run, but he knew drawing attention to them would be worse. Voldemort might already have someone watching this area._ I wonder if he knows she's not at the store,_ Harry thought, his throat tight.

The sun set as they walked, and the street lamps came on. Had it been a different situation, Harry would have smiled at Snape, Remus, and Mr. Weasley dressed as muggles, but as it was, Harry barely noticed.

Mr. Blurnof took out a cell phone as they stopped at a corner, he dialed a number and waited. "Hello, Joel? Listen, I'm afraid I'll have to pick Alex up a little early. Yes, I am sorry about the short notice. Could you have her ready in a few minutes? Ten? Alright, I'll be there shortly, thanks." He hung up, and looked at Harry, "Alex will be ready soon. Are you sure that she's-" Several _cracks_ sounded cutting the man off, screams followed after, tearing violently through the air.

"Damn! They're early!" Harry snarled, and ran up to the house, Mr. Blurnof close on his heels. He tried to open the door, but it was locked. Harry cursed when _alohamora_ didn't work. He turned into a chimera and knocked it down.

A sudden rush of cold air met him, and the name of the source popped into his head: dementors. "_Expecto patronum!_" Mr. Blurnof shouted, a large bear shot out of his wand and ran at the hooded figures. Harry saw the five Death Eaters in the room, and unleashed his magic. A stream of fire appeared in his hand and lashed out at them, catching their robes on fire.

Alex's dragon patronous appeared, then vanished, but that would mean… "_Expecto Patronum!_" Harry bellowed, recalling his worst memories. The Challenger emerged from his wand, and was soon joined by Snape's thestral and Remus' phoenix. They surrounded the Guardians, herding them into a corner of the room. Quickly Harry shot a string of curses at the Death Eaters, using flaming hexes, ice storm jinxes, and the bat bogey hex to full extent. One Death Eater managed to curse Alex with the Cruciatus before Harry lost it. He exploded with air, knocking the Death Eaters out the windows and into the alley behind the house. Only when Mr. Blurnof had portkeyed himself and Alex away did Harry follow, flames in his eyes.

The Death Eaters scrambled to their feet and ran, Harry chased after with the others shouting for him to stop. Tallon fired curse after curse at the fleeing warlocks, never giving them a second to return fire. But he finally came to his senses when Remus' shouts of warning registered in his ears. The Death Eaters had run all the way down the alley, to a dead end. Harry took a step back as more Death Eaters appeared. Inwardly, he cursed himself—he gone right into their trap.

There were roughly seventeen of them, against the four of them; not good odds. The Death Eaters instantly put up anchoring wards on the area, along with anti-dissaperation wards and also wards to stop the use of portkeys. _Wonderful,_ Harry thought as they spread out. His adrenaline had started to fall, but he hoped it would pick back up, and quick.

The Death Eaters easily surrounded them, shooting hexes nonstop. Harry blocked them easily, trying to liquefy the ground while staying safe—not easy. Their animagus forms saw much use, but they weren't able to get out. Then, several Death Eaters went flying as something large hit them from behind. The screech of tires followed, and a Harry saw a black car skid to a stop. The doors opened, and a fireball curse erupted out at the Death Eaters. "Get in!" the driver called. The four Order members didn't hesitate.

Harry slid smoothly into the back seat, firing one last jinx before he closed the door. Once everyone was in, the car sped off. The Death Eaters disappeared form view quickly as the car steered expertly through the streets, taking corners a bit too sharply for Remus' comfort. Harry blinked—the driver was Splikvin.

"Are they following us?" Mr. Weasley panted, trying to buckle himself in.

Splikvin looked through the review mirror, "Yes, on brooms."

"Will they catch us?" Harry asked.

She smirked, "They can try." The car sped up as they reached a highway, Harry often checked to look for the Death Eaters. His lenses let him see their blurry forms, the size of dots.

Splikvin got off the highway after a few minutes, slowing down as she drove into a muggle neighborhood. She drove into the driveway of house number two-thousand-twenty-nine and stopped the car, allowing them to get out. She gave a key to Snape, "Go inside, I'll be back in a little bit. I have to hide the car; they put a tracking charm on it." They went up to the door and she drove off. _I hope the Death Eaters don't destroy it, _Harry thought suddenly, _it's a pretty nice car._ He then followed the others into the house. Snape checked inside the doorway, then led them in and locked the door behind him.

"Can you see anything?" Mr. Weasley asked. Harry automatically felt for a light switch, found one, and turned on the lights. He was surprised that Splikvin would have electricity in her house—it looked a lot like a muggle home.

Its walls were light green, dark blue, and tan in the living room, dining room, and kitchen—respectively; each room had muggle appliances. Mr. Weasley looked like he couldn't have been happier. Snape sat down and stared out the window, Remus took another seat, and Harry remained standing while watching Mr. Weasley explore. Something rubbed against his ankles, causing Tallon to look down—it was Sevvie. The young cat meowed, so Harry scratched him behind the ears for a few moments. Satisfied, Sevvie left and trotted over to Snape and sat on the professor's lap.

A few minutes of awkward silence later, a bat flew out of the fireplace and turned into Splikvin. She cleaned the soot off her robes and walked over to the front door. She cut a small line in her hand with a knife and put the bleeding hand on the doorknob. "What are you doing?" Remus asked.

"Reactivating the wards." Splikvin replied as a soft glow of white light appeared, then faded. Sevvie meowed again and trotted over to his food bowl. Splikvin sighed, "I'm getting to it." She flicked her wand and cat food appeared. "Happy?" she asked sarcastically, Sevvie didn't reply. Splikvin then noticed that the four of them were watching her. "What?" the older wizards remained silent, but Harry couldn't keep in a question.

"Why do you live in a muggle house?"

Splikvin hesitated, "I'm not exactly a normal pureblood," she muttered, "I couldn't live at Durmstrang, so I lived at a muggle orphanage in Bulgaria. I worked at a muggle cinema during the summers, to pay for my tuition-" she smiled bitterly, "Actually, I'm still paying for the last year. But anyway, I lived in the orphanage until I was eighteen, I left immediately on my birthday; it was—too much like home for comfort." Harry noticed that Snape flinched slightly, making him wonder what their home had been like.

"I'd grown used to living like a muggle," Splikvin continued, "So-" she waved a hand at the room, "I still do. Besides, a muggle home is the last place someone would look for me, pureblood or no." She looked up in time to see Mr. Weasley fiddling with the stereo. "Don't push-" Her warning was too late and Mr. Weasley pushed the on button.

Extremely loud music burst through the speakers, breaking the quiet of the house. Splikvin hastily picked up a remote and turned it off, wincing. Harry bit back a laugh.

"I advise you not to do that again Arthur," Snape saiddryly as they removed their hands from over their ears. "Why, might I ask, did you have it so loud?"

"Sevvie messes with the controls," she replied, "_Why_ did you have to get me a cat?" Snape only smirked in reply.

* * *

They stayed at Splikvin's house that night, being too tired to really go anywhere. Harry had wanted to see how Alex was doing, but then Moony reminded him that she was at a safe house with Mr. Blurnof, and that they had no idea where that was. Harry grudgingly saw the reason behind it, and slept on a bed conjured for him in the study. He grinned slightly when he saw a computer in there too. Splikvin really had grown up as a muggle.

The next morning came bright, early, hot—and noisy. Mr. Weasley had found the television set in the cabinet in the living room, and curiosity had him pressing random buttons at six in the morning, one of which happened to be the volume; no body was exactly happy with him that morning.

After breakfast, they returned to Headquarters, where Tallon and Moony found several anxious people waiting for them. Sirius had to take a calming draught, followed by a sleeping potion. Harry couldn't really understand why he'd been that worried. Mrs. Weasley was another of the more worried, but a quick check up on them had her satisfied.

An Auror class followed their return, and Harry once again dueled Splikvin. After a while she disarmed him, and tossed him back his wand. "You're not leaving until you beat me." She told him, "I know you can Harry, _you_ just have to know that."

Tallon rubbed his head. "But I _can't_ beat you, you're too fast."

She crossed her arms, "If that's not a bunch of crap I don't know what is." He starred at her. "Harry, you can face about thirty-five Death Eaters and win, I can face about twenty and come out alive, most likely injured somewhat. If you think thirty-five people combined are slower than _one_, you're brain is smaller than I thought. All you need is just one trick, and you can beat me. Or are you going to keep letting me beat you; in all honesty, it's getting boring."

Harry felt annoyance rise in him, he stood. "Fine, let's go again."

She nodded, "Begin on three, and anything goes."

For 'anything goes' Harry used his elemental magic. He hurled fire at her, blinded her with lightning, and shook the ground beneath her. Splikvin used her animagus forms to escape most of them; her vampire form was the one she used most often. Harry noticed this and split a part of his mind off from the rest, focusing on two things at once. While he continued to hurl elements at her, he summoned wind behind him, and slowly turned it into a mass of swirling force. He was finishing it up when she said, "_Legilimens!_"

Harry was actually thrown backwards by the force; it hurt ten times as much as when Snape did it. The pain caused him to loose his grip on the winds behind him, but it jumped over him and charged at Splikvin. She was caught up in it and repeatedly slammed against the barriers that had been placed, then the link to Harry's mind was gone.

Tallon stood up, shaking and gasping for breath. He calmed the wind down when he saw her still being thrown against the wall. Her wand dropped and she fell to the ground. "Professor?" he croaked, afraid he'd seriously harmed her.

She stirred, then rolled over onto all fours; and—she laughed. "Much better Harry," she said with a grin as she looked up at him, "_Much_ better."

Harry found that he himself was grinning, and offered her a hand up. "Again?" he asked mockingly, she only laughed harder.

* * *

**Coming Up:**

The-Boy-Who-Lived

When Hell Freezes Over

**Then:**

Bring Back the Wards


	21. The Boy Who Lived

**Chapter 20**

_(A/N: Sorry about the delay, computer was acting funny. Also, I'm not sure if I've done a disclaimer for this story, so here it is: I do not own any person, place, or thing that was written by J.K. Rowling in the Harry Potter series, thank you.)_

Harry checked the store the next day to see if Alex was back yet, but it was closed—basically meaning no.

He was dropping off the ingredients he'd bought from the Apothecary at his home when his pendant vibrated. "Ministry attack!" Tonks' voice exclaimed, "Get over here!"

Harry left The Hideaway immediately, making sure to cloak himself before he could be seen. He rushed past the main entrance, the lobby, and the Fountain of Magical Brethren. The scene before him made Harry's blood run cold. Death Eaters were everywhere, but it was Malfoy Sr. dueling Remus and Bellatrix dueling Sirius that made him freeze—it was too much like the Department of Mysteries two years ago…

"Wake _up_ Tallon!" Ron's voice called.

Harry jerked out of his daze and realized that he'd lost control of his cloaking spell and become visible. He just barely ducked a curse. Calling up his magic, he sent balls of fire and lightning at the Death Eaters, distracting them until the others could disarm them.

Sweat dripped into his eyes from the continued use, and Harry forced himself to use wand magic instead. His energy instantly perked up, and he fired spell after spell. They'd started to push the Death Eaters back when Harry heard someone hiss, "_Avada-"_

Harry jerked his head and saw Percy lying on the ground, leg broken as the Death Eater took aim. Everything seemed to slow down, "_Sanctus!_" Harry said frantically—nothing happened. _Why isn't it working?_ He thought desperately. Harry felt his wand slip from his fingers and he ran towards Percy, "_Kadavra!_" finished the Death Eater. The green jet of light headed towards Percy, and Harry did the only thing he could think of—jump.

The green light hit him in the chest and Harry's ears were filled with the sound of screams. It was torturous. Millions of people, screaming out in pain, angst, and rage; no wonder people's faces were horrified when they were killed like this.

Immense pain filled Harry, seeping into his soul and heart like shards of glass. He wanted to scream, but couldn't. Slowly, black shadows consumed his senses, and he knew nothing but pain.

* * *

Tears…sobbing…murmured words. None of it made sense, yet it all came in sharp clarity.

Harry's limbs felt like lead, his mind was clouded with an unknown fog. He could hear everything, _feel_ everything around him, but he couldn't understand it. Shadows filled every inch of him, refusing to let go. He didn't mind really, it was comforting, empty, and motionless; nothing like the chaotic life he lived in reality. Was this death? If it was, it wasn't so bad…

Then, peoples' voices became more desperate, and two stood out more than the others: 'Don't leave Tallon,' one whispered.

'You can make it,' the other urged.

_Padfoot…Moony_, Harry couldn't find the strength to form the words. _I'm still here,_ he thought, hoping that somehow the words would reach them. He managed to exhale; earning gasps and shouts as responses before he slipped into darkness once more.

* * *

Harry finally managed to wake. He couldn't move really, but he knew he was very much alive. He could feel several people in the area around him, some asleep, others dreaming, and a few awake. Opening his eyes, which was more trouble than he'd ever remembered, Harry saw the afternoon sun streaming through the windows—he was at the Infirmary at Headquarters.

Blinking, he stiffly turned his head to look at the person leaned against him. He smiled, it was Alex. Feeling a warm weight on his legs, Harry's smile widened, Padfoot was lying there, and Remus was sitting in an armchair to his left, still in human form. Hermione and Ron were also there, talking quietly with each other; they hadn't noticed his awakening. He simply watched them for a while, then a large group of red-heads, the entire Weasley family, caught his eye. They were sitting near another bed, which hosted Percy, still sleeping.

"Is he alright?" Harry croaked, as quietly as he could.

Hermione jumped, and Ron jerked in surprise. "Harry!" Hermione whispered, "You're awake!"

He chuckled, "Yeah, I think I am. Is Percy alright?"

Ron, paler than usual, nodded. "He's fine, you—you took it for him, didn't you?"

Harry nodded slightly, "I guess I did. What happened?"

Hermione swallowed, "The Death Eater was Rockwood, and—well, when the curse hit you it…it sort of _rebounded_ back to him and he…died."

Harry thought about it, _Thanks Mom,_ he thought.

He felt Alex stir, and she rubbed her eyes as she woke up. Once she saw he was awake, her face paled and grew furious. "Don't you _ever_ do that again Harry James Potter!" she cried, "Or I swear I will-"

Harry silenced her by putting a hand over her mouth and a smiled, then he kissed her. "You'll wake everybody up," he said mischievously.

She relaxed, then fixed him with a stern look, "Don't think you've heard the last of this."

He laughed, pulling her closer, "I don't doubt it."

The dog at his feet woke up, and instantly bounded up onto Harry's chest, then proceeded to lick his face with more speed than Harry had though possible. Remus was the next to wake up, he visibly sagged in relief. "Don't do that again Tallon," he said, "My hair is grey enough as it is."

Harry could only laugh in reply.

* * *

Eventually, once the shock of Harry surviving the Killing Curse once more had eased somewhat, his friends and family were ordered to leave him alone by an exasperated Madame Pomfrey. Once the Infirmary had been cleared of guests, Harry saw that it was only himself and Percy left in the room, both very much aware of the other's presence.

"How are you feeling?" Harry asked into the awkward silence.

"Alright," Percy replied, not meeting his eyes, "And you?"

"Not too bad," Tallon replied cheerfully, though his limbs were still heavy and wobbly.

There were a few more minutes of quiet before Percy spoke quietly, "You didn't have to do that."

Harry met his eyes seriously, "I know, but I did."

Percy looked at him, a confused and somewhat irritated expression on his face. "Why? You could have _died!_"

"So could you." Harry replied.

"Yes, but you had no reason to! I've been a complete prat to you, I even told Ron to stay _away_ from you! What was the point?"

Harry shrugged, "Why do you work at the Ministry?"

Percy blinked, "It's my job."

"And why is it?"

"Because I chose to do it."

Harry nodded, "That's exactly why I did what I did." Percy opened his mouth, then closed it. Harry continued, "We can't change the past, and we don't know what's going to happen in the future. But we _can_ change what's happening now, we _do_ know what's happening now. We're in war, and we need to be on the same side, even if we don't really like each other."

Percy frowned slightly, "Did you know you would survive?"

"No," Harry replied, "I didn't; I just acted on instinct I guess." He smiled slightly, "Hermione says I have a 'saving-people-thing', I guess that's what it is."

Percy nodded, "I—I'd like to…to apologize, for my behavior over the past few years, towards you. It was…uncalled for."

"Don't fret about it," Harry replied, "Thanks for apologizing, but I don't think it's me you should be apologizing to."

"Who then? You saved my life."

"You're family Percy."

He looked away, "They probably hate me by now, and I still haven't really talked to them much since Fudge reti — was fired."

Harry gave him a lopsided grin, "I doubt it. Yeah, Ron's a bit miffed at you, but he's really the only one. The twins, they'd be glad to have someone to tease again, and Ginny'd be right along with them. Bill and Charlie were never really made that I know of, and I know your parents have always wanted you to come back to the family, you've just gotta let them know you want to."

Percy looked at him for a moment, then nodded, "Thank you Harry; you have no idea."

Harry smiled, "Anytime, honest."

* * *

Harry was glad that he'd been taken to Headquarters, because apparently there were a lot of reporters at the Ministry building, wanting to talk to him—thankfully the Ministers had said he wouldn't been talking to them any time soon.

Harry wasn't really able to move much for the rest of the day. Well, Madame Pomfrey never really gave him the chance to try. However, a little after dinner, Tallon managed to slip away under a cloaking spell. He made his way down the halls, getting steady on his legs again. Luckily, no one was around to see him stumbling and therefore take him back to the Infirmary.

On his way down, he heard someone arguing in one of the rooms. He paused, trying to identify the people. After a few moments, he had them: Snape and Splikvin. A combination of curiosity and shock as to why _they_ would be arguing caused him to listen in by slipping through the door as a cobra and hide in the shadows unnoticed by the two.

"It was bloody foolish!" Snape exclaimed, pacing angrily around the room.

Splikvin sighed, "Yes Severus, it was, but it had good reason behind it!"

Snape glared at her, "He can't just go jumping in front of every damn unforgivable that he sees!" Harry nearly jumped, they were talking about him. "It's that idiotic Gryffindor blood!"

Splikvin's hands clenched. "Not every Gryffindor is as bad as you think Severus!" she retorted.

"That's easy for _you_ to say!" he hissed. "They didn't nearly kill and severly_humiliate_ you!"

She winced, "I know that! But it was in the _past_ Severus! Let-it-_go_! Holding grudges is pointless!"

Snape sneered at his twin, "Oh really? How would you know? You don't even blame _Lucius_ for Merlin's sake! What the hell would you know about grudges?"

"Believe me Severus, I know more than you think!" she growled back, "But what you don't get is that people _change_ as they get older, except you it seems. Remus has tried to apologize a million times, and yet you still won't listen! You hold a grudge against Potter because of James-"

"Oh yes, take their side why don't you?" He spat, "You've always cared more about your Gryffindor friends than your own family!"

She flinched, "That's not true Severus!" she yelled, "And you had better damn know that!"

He sneered, "Prove me wrong then!" Harry couldn't believe this was actually happening.

Her hands were clenched into white-knuckled fists, "Before, I didn't need to _prove_ **anything**! We used to trust each other Severus! What happened?"

"We changed," he retorted, using her own words. "And you side with Gryffindors and their foolish,rash, andarrogantideas!"

"Harry's decision was out of good instinct! He didn't want someone to die pointlessly!"

"But he is needed in this war!" snarled Snape. "One person is much less when compared to the fate of the rest of the magical world! The risk itself was pointless and unnecessary!"

"We need more people Severus," she snapped, "The Order alone is not enough to stop Voldemort!"

"Don't say his name!" he hissed.

"Why?" she demanded, "It's just a damn name! Only followers of him call him the 'Dark Lord'!"

Now it was Snape's turn to flinch. "Mind you _I _was once a follower! And it was because _you_ left!"

Splikvin cringed, taking a step back. "I know Sev! And I'm sorry! I didn't mean for it to turn out like it did!"

"Oh really? You could have at least _tried_ to come back once every year! We were trained in stealth, are you telling me those lessons had no effect?"

"I'm _sorry!_" she seemed at loss for words, "I—I was afraid, Sev…afraid I would get caught. I didn't mean to stay away for so long…I just couldn't…"

"Couldn't _what_?" he spat, "Couldn't stand to face your friends? Stand to face home?" The door opened, but neither of them seemed to notice. "_WHAT THE BLOODY HELL WAS THERE THAT YOU COULDN'T DO?_"

The explosion of magic that released from Snape caused Splikvin to be slammed into the wall, but no one else. She slid to the floor after the crack of bone was audible; Remus, Sirius, Dumbledore, and Tonks starred at the potions master, who continued to glare at his sister.

She closed her eyes, looking away, "I guess you are a Snape," she whispered.

Snape instantly went three shades paler; he looked at his hands with a horrified expression, and literally fled the room.

Remus nearly ran after Snape, a furious look on his face, but Padfoot held him back. "Let 'im go," Splikvin croaked, struggling to her feet. "Just the Snape temper," she said in a light voice.

"Selena," Dumbledore began worriedly, she cut him off.

"It'll die down, it was just an argument."

Sirius chuckled uneasily, "Yeah, the day you two stay mad at each other is the day hell freezes over."

But Harry wasn't sure about that.

* * *

**Coming Up:**

Hogwarts

The Wards

**Then:**

International Members

Happy Birthday!

Old, Fond, and Funny Memories

* * *


	22. The Wards of Hogwarts

**Chapter 21**

Harry spent some time playing Quidditch with his friends in the indoor pitch at Headquarters, while still thinking about the argument Snape and Splikvin had earlier. It bugged him that Snape blew up like that, he'd never seen the potions master _that_ angry, even after Harry had looked in his pensive. Tallon pondered it for the rest of the day, coming up with absolutely no answers.

After leaving Headquarters, he went home and found the Founders out of their portraits. He updated them on current events, and practiced with them for a while. That night was a full moon, and so Tallon went to bed very late.

The next day though, it was clear Voldemort did not want to give anyone in the Order some rest. A midnight attack had happened, one that Harry hadn't known about due to his leaving his pendant on his bed when he transformed, and early the next morning, Voldemort attacked again.

* * *

Several screams of pain rang out through The Hideaway, tearing Harry into wakefulness. He scrambled out of bed, and found the source: the four founders. 

"What's wrong?" he shouted, looking at Salazar, the only one who seemed able to fight down screams.

"Hogwarts," the founder replied through tightly clenched teeth, "Wards…we are tied to them."

Harry understood in a flash, "Hand tight, I'll go see what's happening." He turned to leave but Salazar stopped him with a hiss.

"Go to the Chamber," Slytherin told him, "My wards… begin… there… Godric's…in Headmaster's office….Helga's….in Room of Requirement…and Rowena's in…Astronomy Tower." Salazar's voice was growing tighter, gruffer; his face turned grey with pain, but he wasn't finished. "Use the four spells…they are keyed into…heart of the castle…got it?"

Harry nodded, "Hang on, all of you." The founder nodded stiffly, gritting his teeth, and Harry teleported to Hogwarts.

The castle shuddered, though not physically. Harry could feel the pressure building on it, Hogwarts itself was in pain. He shoved the distracting pain aside, and made his way to the Chamber of Secrets. He hissed the password, and went down as a phoenix. He couldn't suppress a shudder as the memories of second year returned. He forced himself to think of the task at hand, and searched for a place to insert the spell.

He quickly inspected each statue and column in the Chamber, but found nothing that hinted at the right direction. Then, he remembered where the basilisk had come from and hissed: _"Speak to me Salazar Slytherin, noblest of the Founders four."_ The statue opened its mouth, and Harry clambered in. It turned out to be a very old study, covered with dust, green, silver, and mahogany. Bookshelves were empty, the scrolls that had been there either gone or rotted beyond use. A worn desk sported several quills and dried bottles of ink, a circular passage that most likely led to the basilisk's den was in the wall to the left. However, it was at the back of the room that Harry found what he sought.

A pedestal, wrought of silver and emeralds, was placed in a small cove that was shadowed; it had a thing opening, and Harry knew just what to put in there. "_Salithren Excalibera_," he said, and the sword appeared in his hand. Smoothly, Tallon inserted the sword into the stone, and a blast of emerald green light filled the room, twisting and compacting into the shape of a snake. It coiled up before the pedestal, its tongue flickering out at Harry. After several long moments, the serpent ward inclined its head before unleashing an inner hiss that sounded within Harry's very soul. He felt something inside him responded, but not with nearly the same amount of sly cunning that the serpent's tone had.

Harry, knowing his task was done, left Salazar's study and became a phoenix once more. He flew rapidly up through where he had come, and soared through the castle, wincing as the castle shuddered again. He could feel the evil tainting it, working its way towards the center of the protections. But he could also feel a strong presence, fighting back, and he knew that was the Founders.

A quick glance outside showed him Dumbledore and several other Order members and Hogwarts professors fighting Death Eaters. He wanted to help them, but the wards had to come first. Harry became human as he reached the Room of Requirement. He paced three times before the door thinking, _I need Helga's room, the home of her wards._

The door changed to a solid gold one, with a badger pressed into it. Harry pushed it open, and found an room made of white marble, with flecks of gold in the stone. Four pillars formed a square in the center of the room, they were seamlessly joined with both the floor and the now-domed ceiling. "_Hufflenza Domec,_" Harry said, the golden spell grew around him, expanding until it came in contact with the columns. When it did, the spell vanished, and the columns were glowing with yellow light. In the center between the columns, a badger made of yellow light, and that came up to Tallon's hip, appeared. It looked at him for a moment, the nodded and shook itself. Harry could feel comforting warmth spread within and around him, emitting from the badger and again, a bit from himself.

After this, Harry left once more, this time transforming into a werewolf for greater speed and agility. He raced through the corridors, making his way from the floor he was on, to the floor which the Headmaster's office was—and where Godric's wards began.

The portraits were cringing in pain, some crying out; they could feel it too. The stairs even trembled under the pressure which Voldemort was mercilessly applying to the wards. But Hogwarts did not give up. Harry could sense Voldemort's mild surprise at being so forcefully opposed, but he pushed harder, it felt like red-hot iron stakes were being stabbed into Hogwarts over and over again, and everything within the castle was feeling it. Harry cringed when he saw Peeves on the ground, wincing; even the irritable poltergeist didn't deserve pain like this.

The gargoyle leapt aside as Harry approached, its face stonier than usual. Harry took the steps three at a time, skidding to a stop before he crashed head-long into the firm wooden door.

After becoming human, Harry began to search for the place to put Godric's shield. His heart twisted when he saw Fawkes burst into flames, becoming a younger version—it wasn't even time for his Burning Day. '_Do you know where the heart of the wards are?_' Tallon asked.

Fawkes' reply was weak, '_I fear not…only the founders and their heir can find it…hurry Tallon._'

Harry mentally cursed Voldemort a hundred times over as Fawkes lapped into unconsciousness. He frantically searched for something that would fit a shield. _Where would I put a shield?_ He wondered, then remembered that some people put their family crests above their door. He glanced up, and sure enough, there was a golden nail hanging above it, along with two golden prongs about a foot and a half beneath it. Harry said, "_Godera Contego_," and the shield appeared. He levitated it up, and gently placed it where it belonged. A flash of ruby light bathed the room, and turned into a lion. It reared back and let out a ferocious roar, and Harry felt his soul answer, louder than it had to the other two wards.

_Three down and one to go,_ Harry thought, transforming into a phoenix. He felt Voldemort's urgency, and anger at the increasing strength of the wards; the Dark Lord shoved brutally against Hogwarts and its defenses. _I won't have time,_ Harry thought, _I won't have time to get there!_

'_Fire-fly'_ Fawkes' weak voice answered.

Harry turned and saw the other phoenix open his eyes, '_How?'_ Harry asked.

_'Let yourself become fire, become light._' The phoenix answered wearily, _'Find the fire in your soul, and let it consume you._'

Harry took a deep breath, ruffling his feathers slightly to relax. He brought to mind his elemental lessons; he called up the sound of fire which he had listened for, the feel of its heat, the brightness it brought. He let the feeling spread within him, and suddenly felt very light. A sudden burst of energy exploded within him, and the next thing Tallon knew, he was sitting in phoenix form in the Astronomy Tower.

Becoming human again, Harry searched while transforming his wand into the staff. Its blue runes pulsed, and Harry felt something pull him to the left. He moved in that direction, then stopped: something didn't feel right. He probed the area that called to him with a bit of his magic, and felt darkness try to swallow it. Harry grimaced, Voldemort _definitely_ didn't want him putting it in the right spot. He shoved the distracting pulses of camouflaged darkness away, concentrating on the staff itself. He sensed a sharpness in it, and searched for something that matched. After a few minutes, he sensed something above him that had the exact same feeling, only more dormant, as if waiting for something.

Harry flew up there as a phoenix, with the staff grasped tightly in his talons, and found the heart of Rowena's wards: the weather vane. He landed on the roof, and turned into a human once more. Calmly the winds that thrashed around him so high up off the ground, Harry saw that the copper weather vane was thick, thick enough for the staff. Upon closer inspection, he saw that the top of the weather vane had a crack around it, but a perfect one. Harry gently pried the top off, and found a hole suited to the staff's size. He gently inserted the staff, nearly toppling backwards when the blast of cerulean blue light followed. Like the other wards, it took the shape of the founder's mascot: a raven. It flared its wings, releasing sharp energy, full of ancient knowledge, quick wit, and the feeling Harry knew he got when looking up at the boundless heavens above.

Tallon whooped when the darkness of Voldemort was forced back by the four creatures that were the wards. A combination of the four colors spread out, leaving no inch of the castle untouched. They melded together, keeping their own color but merging perfectly with each other.

The Death Eaters that were fighting below were shoved backwards hundreds of yards with a ferocious blast from Hogwarts, until they were consumed by the Forbidden Forest.

The wards pulsed in warning, until Voldemort himself retreated completely, vanishing altogether from the school grounds. Harry could hear Hogwarts itself celebrating, the Founders' emotions ran through him. He could feel Helga's happiness that the school was safe, Godric's playfulness at a fight, Rowena's satisfaction that everything was back to normal, and Salazar's smugness that he'd won. Harry grinned after sensing the last emotion; _only a Slytherin,_ he thought dryly.

_Too right you are,_ Salazar replied haughtily. Harry laughed from his perch high above the rest of the school; it carried through every corridor, every classroom, every dungeon, and, unknown to him, became part of the wards themselves.

* * *

"What's going on now?" Harry asked. He was standing in the Great Hall, where the other teachers and Order members had gathered. 

"We've decided to place some extra protections on Hogwarts," Remus told him, still looking a bit tired from the previous nights' adventure, "Well, Dumbledore did anyway."

Harry didn't think that they would need extra wards, but said nothing. He noticed that a few new people appeared as some of the others left, but he didn't really understand _why_. "What kind of protections exactly?" he asked quietly.

"Blood magic," Dumbledore told him cheerfully, "Or rather, blood bonds."

Then Harry caught on, "You mean like parent and kid, brothers, sisters, friends, that sort of thing?"

Dumbledore smiled, "Exactly, but there are a few others as well; we are actually almost ready." They waited until a few more people arrived, the last being Splikvin; she looked slightly nervous, but hid it quickly before anyone could really notice.

Dumbledore cleared his throat, "We will be setting several protections today, they are all blood bond protections, and here they are: brother and sister, sisters, brothers, parent and child, teacher and pupil, spouses, and friend and friend. Everything clear?"

There was an echo of 'yes', 'yup' and 'got it' throughout the hall. Dumbledore continued, "Do you all know which role you will play?" They nodded, except Harry.

"Sorry Sir," he said, "But I don't."

"Oh yes, my apologies. Would you please do the pupil and teacher?" asked Dumbledore.

Harry blinked, "Sure, I guess."

Dumbledore nodded, "Very good, let's begin."

The group separated into groups, the largest consisting of those who would supply the power, they included: Dumbledore, McGonagall, Dung, Professors Vector, Trelawney, Madame Pomfrey, Dedalus Diggle, Kingsley, Moody, and Tonks. The rest of them divided into to lines, each facing the person they would be doing the magic with. Harry found himself standing opposite of a cheerily smiling Flitwick. Harry observed the other pairs: Mrs. Weasley and Bill, Mr. Weasley and Charlie, Fred and George, Remus and Sirius, Madame Hooch and a man he didn't recognize, Professor Sprout and a woman who looked similar, and, lastly, Snape and Splikvin.

The power-suppliers formed a ring around the pairs, and began to quietly chant the spell. Harry felt their magic rise into the air, and hover around the first pair: Remus and Sirius. "From friend to friend," Remus said, opening a small cut on his palm and holding it out to Sirius, "Always beside each other, always with each other."

Sirius cut his hand in a similar manner and pressed it to Remus', "From friend to friend, always getting into trouble together, and always getting out of it together." They smiled as others chuckled, and a soft red glow surrounded them, then vanished into the very stones of the castle.

Then it was Sprout's turn, she opened a small cut as well. "From sister to sister," she said with a smile, "Eternally united with one another, and eternally annoying each other."

Sprout's sister pressed her cut hand to her partner and said, "From sister to sister, eternally united against little brothers, and eternally laughing with each other." A bright golden glow flowed around them.

Madame Hooch began the next part. "From wife to husband, always joined through love and life." She said with a rare smile.

The man replied with a smile of his own, "From husband to wife, always joined through laughter and misery." A new, pearly-white glow sprang into the air, beginning from their hands.

Then it was Harry's and Flitwick's turn. Flitwick opened a small cut on his hand and said, "From teacher to pupil, constantly together through arguments and thoughts."

Harry used his own dagger to make a slit in his palm, which he pressed to Flitwick's. "From pupil to teacher, constantly together through lessons and corrections." As he finished his words, Tallon felt a sharp warmth flow through him, filled with energy from the others. It swirled around inside him in a mildly painful way, but it was a good painful, like when he lost a tooth. If swirled for a moment before flowing out, mingling with the energy that came from Flitwick; Harry was strongly reminded of the first time he'd gripped his original wand. A purple light came out of their hands, and then gently floated into the castle.

Harry was left slightly breathless and tired as he listened to the others. "From mother to son," Mrs. Weasley began, "Always together through worries and pride."

Bill pressed his cut palm to his mothers and said, "From son to mother, always together through annoyance and happiness." Another red light formed, this one lighter than others.

"From Father to son," began Mr. Weasley, "Eternally joined by strength and ideas."

Charlie replied, "From son to father, eternally joined by faith and courage." A soft blue light flowed out of them.

Then it was the twins' turn. Fred solemnly cut his palm and offered it to his brother. "From brother to brother," he began with mock-formality, "Constantly united by jokes and mischief."

George replied in the same 'formal' way, managing to keep a straight face, "From brother to brother, constantly united by pranks and _boundless_ ideas for trouble." The others chuckled while an extremely bright orange glow exploded from the mischief makers.

Then the last pair stepped forward. Snape cut his palm, "From brother to sister, forever bound by blood and honor." He said, holding out his hand.

Splikvin cut her own and pressed it to Snape's. "From sister to brother, forever bound by hope and trust." She finished softly. Harry didn't miss the small, apologetic smile she gave her twin, and the tiniest one Snape gave in return as the bright emerald light, similar in magnitude to Fred and George's, lit up.

All the lights that had come from the bonders came into view, bringing the entire castle to a vibrating liveliness. Harry could feel Hogwarts thrumming with new energy, the stones seemed more polished than before, and the grass outside greener. He smiled, maybe extra protection wasn't such a badidea after all…

* * *

**Coming Up:**

International Members

Happy Birthday To Me!

School-Time Memories

Maybe the Mirror _does_ Show the Future

**Then:**

Breaking the News

* * *

**Review Response:**

**MinorMistake99: **_Yes, Lily's protection did last on Harry, after all, it's only Voldemort who has Harry's blood, and that only means that he can touch Harry, that perhaps part of the protection transferred to him as well.

* * *

_

_(A/N: Wow, thank you VERY much for reviewing! I'm glad you have not been disappointed. Thanks again for all your questions, comments, and ideas towards the story; keep it up and good luck in your own writing! A.S.Leif)_


	23. Happy Birthday To Me!

**Chapter 22**

_(A/N: A really long chapter)_

The Order was going yet another meeting that evening. The adults knew what was going on, but the younger witches and wizards did not, which irritated them beyond healthful levels. Harry was twitchy during his lessons, easily beating Sirius in each duel-- his godfather did not appreciate being beaten by a sixteen year old very much.

Soon after they had finished the 'Auror Lesson', they found themselves sitting in the large main room of Headquarters. It was too hot outside for comfort, and there weren't any attacks to go help out for. Tallon was lazily twirling his wand, wondering what the Order meeting would be about, when Sirius drawled from his spot on another couch, "I'm bloody bored."

Harry's slight grin faded when he saw Snape wince; then Harry remembered that it were words similar to those that had caused the prank in their fifth year, the one Harry had seen in Snape's penesive. "I mean," Sirius continued, "There's nothing to _do_! No attacks, no cries for help, nothing!"

"And you'd rather someone be in trouble?" Remus asked in reply.

Padfoot shrugged, "It'd liven things up a bit."

Splikvin caught Harry's eye and put up a finger mouthing: 'give me a minute.' Tallon, curious as well as confused, gave her the tiniest of nods. She slipped out of the room unnoticed.

"How about we go fetch some of those new dementors?" Harry drawled, looking at his godfather, "That exciting enough for you?"

Sirius thought about it, "Almost."

Moony rolled his eyes, "Of course it's not! Something trying to suck out your soul isn't _nearly_ exciting enough for Padfoot; what were you thinking Harry?"

Harry laughed and was about to reply when _CRACK!_ Something whizzed past his head and smacked into the opposite couch right above Sirius' head: it was a bludger.

Padfoot dove off of the couch, rolling out of the way as the bludger chased after him. Harry noticed Snape smirking, but the wizard didn't have his wand out. Turning around as Sirius ducked the bludger, Harry saw Splikvin at the opposite end of the hall, lazily twirling two beaters' bats around in her hands.

"What the bloody hell is this for?" Padfoot bellowed, ducking for cover as the bludger mercilessly chased after him and Remus laughed outright.

"You said you were bored," Splikvin replied innocently, "Or is a rouge bludger too tough for you?"

Sirius glared at her, but it lost its menace since he was hiding behind a chair. "No way!" he growled, "I'd take _thirty_ rouge bludgers_ any_ day!"

She smirked, walking over as he ducked again, then tossed him a bat, "Beaters' battle." she said, and motioned to the bludger-- it froze in the air.

Harry gave a questioning look at Remus, "Beaters' battle?"

Remus grinned, eyes alight. "Two beaters whacking bludgers at each other, increasing the number of bludgers every ten hits; very fun, if dangerous, to watch."

Harry grinned back, "So basically, duck for cover while you watch or you'll get your brains knocked out."

Remus jumped aside as the bludger suddenly whizzed over near him, "Good way to put it," he told Harry with a grin.

So the two of them ducked behind a sofa while Sirius and Splikvin faced off, with Snape still sitting in his chair a few feet to the side.

The two former beaters smacked the bludger back and forth, trying to hit the other. After ten hits, Snape would conjure another bludger, charm it, and send it after them. Sirius turned out to have a lot of power behind his hits, smacking them two-handed for double the magnitude. Splikvin seemed to favor technique instead, pulling off complicated swings that caused the bludger to swerve, bounce off the floor, or circle back like a boomerang.

More than once Tallon and Moony had to drop to the ground to avoid a multitude of bludgers that had spotted them. When the bludger numbers got up to seven, Harry'd had enough of being almost knocked out and he put up a Parsloz shield around himself and Moony to block the solid objects; Snape hadn't been attacked by the murderous bludgers once.

Harry couldn't help grinning as Sirius got more and more frustrated. First, Padfoot had been beaten by his godson, and now he couldn't manage to beat Selena. His face got more and more flushed, until eventually, he started to swear. Tallon remembered last year when Remus had told him a bit about Selena, before he'd met Snape's twin, and how Sirius had cursed her many times for blocking his bludger-shots during Quidditch matches. All in all, Tallon learned quite a bit of colorful language from his godfather and laughed so hard his stomach began to hurt.

* * *

Finally, the set time for the Order meeting had arrived, and Harry was seated next to his godfather, anxiously waiting to hear what the heck was going on; much like he had two summers ago.

Oddly enough, Dumbledore didn't start to talk when the time came: he seemed to be waiting for something. Harry pondered this, but only managed to irritate himself further. At last, the fireplace burst with blue flames, and three figures stepped out. Harry's jaw dropped, it was Bill, Fleur, and Victor Krum.

"Welcome," Dumbledore greeted them with a warm smile, "I trust your journey was well?"

"Very," Krum replied, "It vas quick. Thank you for inviting us."

"Not at all," Dumbledore replied, "But the decision ultimately lies with you."

Harry noticed that Ron had scooted a little closer to Hermione, and was trying not to glare at the Bulgarian Seeker, or stare at the half-veela; Tallon could only smile. He noticed that he himself didn't seem very dazed by Fleur anymore, perhaps it was because of Alex, or maybe he'd just gotten used to Fleur.

Dumbledore addressed the rest of the Order, mainly the younger members, "Miss Fleur Delacoeur and Mr. Victor Krum are here to join the Order of the Phoenix."

Harry smiled, and stood with the rest of the Order. Once again, Dumbledore repeated the small speech he'd given all of them, and the two new recruits signed the paper. Fleur went first, causing Ron's ears to go slightly red when he shook her hand. Harry gave her a friendly smile when she reached him. Krum went second, nodding in greeting to Ron and Harry. Splikvin smiled as she shook her former student's hand, and said something to him in Bulgarian; Krum chuckled.

Harry noticed that Fleur was standing very close to Bill, and had a ring on her left hand. He blinked, it was an engagement ring, Bill noticed Tallon's gaze, and winked. Harry grinned openly in answer.

The Order spent the rest of the meeting updating the two new members on current happenings, and past fights that had occurred. Fleur had a few suggestions to add in preparations of the next attack, and several of them were very creative, and should be effective. Krum had his own ideas, mostly of which were for during fights and had were based off some offensive Quidditch tactics the Bulgarian team had used to great effect.

After the meeting ended, Harry talked with Krum, mostly about Quidditch. Victor was actually training another seeker who might take his place on the team, because he wanted to try his hand at-- surprisingly enough-- teaching, either at Durmstrang or Hogwarts. Their conversation lasted quite a long time, and Harry was so tired when he went to bed, that he'd forgotten what day it was tomorrow: his birthday.

* * *

Wearily, Harry fumbled out of his bed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Instinctively, he got dressed in his exercise clothes and went down to the dungeons and his workout room. He went through the normal routine he'd followed last year, which felt good since he hadn't been able to do it much this summer so far. After that, he was slightly more awake, but his mind wasn't quite there. Dragging his feet back upstairs, Harry took a shower, got dressed, and went back downstairs; the house was oddly quiet.

Harry fiddled with his rings while trying to decide what he wanted to eat for breakfast, after deciding on eggs, he reached out and opened the fridge; a jerk behind his navel followed. Harry's eyes widened, and by the time he arrived at the unknown place, his second wand and his dagger were out, and his mind was racing, a sharp contrast to the dullness it had been at before.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARRY!" the people shouted.

Harry blinked until he realized who they were: the Weasleys, the Grangers, Padfoot, Moony, Alex, Neville, Draco, and a few of the Order members.

Then, what they'd shouted finally began to register. "It's my birthday?" he said blankly.

Ron rolled his eyes, "Now that's just sad."

"I'd have to say I agree," drawled Draco, shaking his head.

Harry blushed, "I...forgot..." he mumbled.

"_Obviously!_" Alex sighed, "Now come on, we want to eat!"

So Tallon was steered into the vast dining room, which was overflowing with food; it reminded Harry much of Hogwarts. _So much for just plain eggs,_ he thought wryly as Mrs. Weasley began to pile food onto everyone's plates. However, now that he smelled it all, Harry was a _lot_ hungrier than he'd been just moments ago; somehow another person's cooking always did that to him.

Tallon dug in, nearly eating as much as Ron-- and _that_ was saying something. The room was filled with the voices of people talking, joking, laughing, and--occasionally-- belching; that mostly came from Dung, Sirius, and the Weasley sons. Tonks provided entertainment with her nose-switching again, as well as changing her hair to awkward styles and colors, causing more laughs to jump into the air. The atmosphere was relaxed, joking, almost joyful; heck, you wouldn't even know that there was a war going on.

After everyone had finished, Harry was bombarded by presents, more than he'd ever had before; he opened them right at the table. From Hermione was a book on phoenixes, filled with tales and real accounts, as well as a lot and a lot of facts. Remus had gotten him a penesive, big enough to hold about ten memories and roughly the size of a football. Sirius gave him the Black family ring, and an animated stuffed black dog that looked exactly like Snuffles; it barked, whined, wagged its tail, and rolled around in the leftover food-- much to Mrs. Weasleys distaste and everyone else's amusement. Ron gave him a baseball cap that sported the Chudley Cannons logo, and the Weasley twins a pack of their newest products: Teeth-Sharpening lollipops, Ice-Breather mints, shoes that forced the wearer to do acrobatic tricks, and a few rings that turned the person thirteen years old again for an hour and forty minutes (which could only be used by someone _older_ than thirteen of course).

Alex had gotten him a leather jacket with the letter 'P' on the back, circled by a wolf, a snake, a phoenix, and a panther. Harry got a rememberall from Neville and a hip-flask from Moody (the note said: 'CONSTANT VILEGANCE!'). The last gift was a box; Tallon noticed that there were small holes in it, _breathing holes_? he wondered. Cautiously, seeing as how the gift was from Draco, Harry opened the lid a crack; something was _definitely_ inside. Then, Harry heard a low hiss, '_Sssstupid box, ssstuffy and ssssmelly.'_ Harry's eyes widened and he took off the lid completely. Inside was a dark green snake, with gold markings. It was roughly a foot long, give or take a few inches, with shining black eyes, and a matching tongue that was flickering out.

"_Sorry about that,_" Harry told it; several people in the room twitched or jumped.

The snake itself looked up in surprise, '_Who be you that ssssspeaksss?'_

_"My name's Tallon, or Harry, either one works."_ Harry replied. "_What's your name?"_

_'Sssspyriidon.'_ The snake replied, '_Who issss the human whom ssstuck me in thisss box? I would like to bite them.'_

Harry laughed, "I don't think he likes you Draco," he said to his friend, to Spyridon he replied, '_He didn't mean anything by it, honest.'_

Spyridon did not seem convinced. '_Hmmm.'_

_"I'll stick him in a box if I ever get the chance, how's that sound?"_

The snake hissed its laughter, '_Deal.'

* * *

_

They moved out of the dining room, and out toward the large, indoor Quidditch pitch. They went through one of the living rooms, where Mrs. Weasley dragged Snape and Splikvin along with the rest of the group—literally. Harry didn't quite manage to smother his laughter at the sight, earning him a set of glares.

He got another surprise once they reached the pitch, there was a set of Quidditch supplies waiting, and several more people from the Order with brooms, as well as Madame Hooch, her referee whistle in hand. Harry looked with slightly wide eyes at Ron, who merely grinned and tossed Harry his broom. "Game time."

A random draw divided the teams, and the game began. Harry was racing Alex in the search for the snitch, and she was riding a broom that matched Harry's. He kept an eye on the chasers on his team: Ginny, Remus, Hermione, Draco, Charlie, and Tonks. They were doing alright, with the exception of Tonks; she somehow managed to drop the quaffle every time her fingers touched it. The beaters on his side were Splikvin, Fred, and Neville, and odd combo in his opinion. Occasionally, his team would be awarded a penalty for Sirius' use of colorful language; this caused Harry to laugh more than once.

He swerved to avoid a bludger sent his way by George, and dove to get out of the way of Dung, who had managed to loose control of his broom. Harry returned to his post above the game, looking for the snitch. Bill blocked the quaffle for his team, and passed it to Ginny, who flew straight down center field, with Splikvin backing her. The youngest Weasley scored a goal, much to her parents' enthusiasm. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had chosen to watch, along with Moody, Snape, McGonagall, Dumbledore, Hagrid, and the Grangers (who'd decided that they didn't particularly care for flying on cleaning equipment and being chased by murderous leather balls).

Harry did a figure eight, boredom getting the better of him. He'd like to be diving instead of hovering. Glancing at Alex and seeing that she was watching the game rather than searching, he decided to do what he wanted, and dove. The air streamed past him as he rushed towards the ground at a ninety-degree angle; he heard a few screams, a few whistles, and Alex come up behind him. She was creeping up, but apparently saw that the snitch wasn't there and pulled up. Harry continued to rush down, sharply leveling out a few feet from the ground. A scattered applause came from his friends, who then resumed their positions in the game.

Harry smiled, finally feeling relaxed for once. Someone yelled, and Harry jerked back into reality: he was about to crash into the bleachers. Tallon yanked up on his broom, his toes skimming the air above the stand. He pulled back up, flying upside down for a while; it was interesting. The view, however, was rather uncomfortable and so Tallon righted himself, resuming his search. A few minutes later, Harry was diving again when he spotted the snitch hovering in the middle of the right goal hoop of his team.

He streaked after it, lying flat against his broom. He was only a few feet away when it flew away, leading him on a confusing trail of loops, dashes, drops, and rolls. Harry followed it close, enjoying the ride. Alex quickly fell in beside him, maneuvering the broom with only a little less ease than him. For a few minutes they raced neck and neck, enjoying the flight rather than trying hard to catch the snitch before the other. Finally, Spyridon hissed irritably from his place wrapped around Harry's arm, _'I am getting very dizzy Harry, ssstop ssswerving.'_

Harry laughed, "_Alright Spyridon, I'll stop._" He pulled his broom into a normal position and sped up, reaching out. Alex fell behind a little, and that was all Harry needed to catch the golden ball and end the game.

* * *

The fire crackled merrily in the fireplace at Headquarters. They were lounging in the armchairs and couches, eyes lazily wandering around. It was roughly nine pm, and Harry's birthday was drawing to a close. '_You all have consssumed far passst what ssshould be consssidered the legal amount of sssugar,_' Spyridon commented, slithering around Harry's shoulders.

Harry giggled slightly, eyeing the many wrappers that lay empty around the room. Part of him agreed with Spyridon, however; they were definitely not acting like Order members. Sirius was still drinking butterbeer, with Harry leaned up against his back. Fred and George were still eating sweets, even though they'd emptied at _least_ five cartons of chocolate frogs; where all the sweets had come from, Harry didn't know.

Ron and Hermione were sharing a couch, ignoring the amused looks Charlie, Ginny, Remus, and Neville were giving them. A large number of the Order had left for home, but a few had remained, namely Tonks, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Dung, Hagrid, Snape, and Splikvin. Why the last pair had remained was a mystery to Harry. It _could_ have been related to the fact that Mrs. Weasley had threatened them with numerous hexes if they didn't stay, of course, along with a large number of howlers during the school year.

Moony got up from his armchair, making his way to the mahogany piano that sat in the corner. Sitting down, he played a few notes, then began a tune. Harry didn't recognize it, but apparently the adults did. Sirius began to tap his fingers to the rhythm, Dumbledore and McGonagall smiled, and Splikvin's eyes widened. She jumped out of her chair and tried to leave, only to find her way barred by Snape. "You can't leave before it even _starts_," he said innocently.

She glared at him, "No way."

"Come on Sel!" Sirius said, "For old time's sake."

Noticing that everyone else was watching her, Splikvin sighed, "Fine." She took a bottle of butterbeer and poured herself a glass. "I'd rather _not_ have to remember this," she grumbled by way of an explanation, and drank as she sat down.

Remus grinned and continued to play, then, to Harry's surprise, Sirius began to sing:

"_Four houses, four louses, _

_Sleeping, competing, dueling, defeating,_

_Fightin' on an' on,_

_But always at hooooome in Hogwarts!"_

Then Remus jumped in, his voice light:

"_First come the Ravenclaws,_

_All dressed up in blue._

_Their heads ain't got a bit of fluff,_

_But full of complicated stuff!_"

He played a few beats, the music jumping up and down. Splikvin took an unsteady breath and continued with a grin,

"_Second up: the Hufflepuffs,_

_Souls fair an' even._

_Always willin' t' help ya out,_

_You'll never see 'em teasin'!_"

Another short span of music followed, this time more lilting and energetic, then it continued in a marching rhythm. Sirius broke out in loud voice:

"_Next're the Gryffindooooors!_

_Always waitn' to prank some mooooore!_

_Red 'n' gold you'll always seeeee!_

_Blindin' all their enemieeees!"_

Harry laughed with his friends, and Remus' notes began to smooth out slightly, more sharp and slick. Splikvin continued the song:

"_Here are the Slytherins,_

_Silver, slither, potions, notions,_

_Not just snakes, and no mistakes,_

_Their wands're quick and fast t' cast!"_

The music sped up, growing louder in volume. And Remus repeated the chorus:

"_Four houses, four louses, _

_Sleeping, competing, dueling, defeating,_

_Fightin' on an' on,_

_But always at hooooome in Hogwarts!"_

Sirius went on, his voice a bragging tone,

"_Ya can't be us Gryffindors,_

_When it comes t' pullin' legs."_

Splikvin retorted in an exaggerating sneering manner,

"_Well you won't pull ours,_

'_Cuz we're the snakes_

_And you're just flat-out lazy!"_

Remus gave a mocking sigh,

"_Gryffindors and Slytherins,_

_They're just too hard to ignore._

_They never give the other a break,_

_Their attitudes can be very poor."_

Sirius and Splikvin both looked at Remus with mock-glares, _"What would you know," _Splikvin demanded , "_You're all just jealous!" _

_"Pity, you just don't understand us!"_ added Sirius.

Remus gained a fake look of horror,

"_I think I'm having a heart attack_

_I just heard them agree!_

_Oh my, oh my, oh dear old me,_

_Someone douse this nightmare with tea!"_

Splikvin snorted,

"_Good luck with that,_

_Dream on you fool,_

_That ain't gonna happen: _

_I'd rather whack myself with a stool!"_

Then the three of them finished the song, Remus' voice was lilting, Sirius' howling, and Splikvin's drawling:

"_Four houses, four louses, _

_Sleeping, competing, dueling, defeating,_

_Fightin' on an' on,_

_But always at hooooome in Hogwarts!"_

Remus finished the music with a flourish, and the three of them broke out laughing, soon to be joined by the others in the room.

"Where the heck did you guys learn that!" Harry exclaimed, wiping the tears from his eyes.

Sirius laughed, "We made it up in second year! Not too bad, eh?"

Ron snorted, "Yeah, more like _horrible!_" They only laughed in reply.

"Of course, it _is_ fairly accurate," Dumbledore commented cheerily, "Though I agree, your voices could use some work."

"More like miracles" Draco drawled.

Snape looked at Draco, "Perhaps not, it could have been worse."

Splikvin, still unsteady from the butterbeer, stared at him. "Who are you and _what_ did you do with my brother?" she demanded, "You are being _way_ too nice!"

The others in the room gawked, and Snape stood sharply up. "Take that back." He growled.

She grinned maniacally at him, "Nope."

In one swift movement, Snape picked Splikvin up and threw her over his shoulder. Stalking over to a window, he opened it and levitated her out, "Take it _back!_" he demanded.

She was laughing, "I didn't take anything!"

"I am_ not_ **nice**!" he bellowed, unaware that the others were bursting with laughter. "Take-it-back!"

"_Fine!"_ she yelled, "You're a mean, evil, greasy-haired, big-nosed, annoying git of a brother, and you always will be!"

Snape pulled his sister back inside, "Thank you, I have a reputation to maintain." He said with perfect seriousness.

"I think it's ruined now," Sirius drawled, pointing at the teenagers who were rolling around on the floor with hysterics.

* * *

**Coming Up:**

Mirror of Erised

Revealed

**Then: **

The One Who Came Through the Veil

Durmstrang

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	24. Heart's True Desire

**Chapter 24**

_(A/N: My apologies for the wait. I am glad, however, that you all enjoyed the last chapter. Heh, I admit though, I had eaten a little too much sugar the previous night before I wrote it, add that to finals coming up and a birthday party where you don't sleep for one minute, and getting back at five in the morning and…well, you can figure it out. In all honesty, I think the lyrics—now that I look at them in a sane manner—are sad, but amusing. Of course, as it was once said: '_Sanity calms, but madness is more interesting'_, it is indeed true. A.S. Leif)_

* * *

Tallon slept in several hours, a catch-up to replace the extra hours he'd remained awake; sugar-high, but awake.

The first thing he did, though, was put his new penesive to use. He put in his memory of the previous day in there, along with his sixteenth birthday, his knowledge of Draco as a spy, and the prophecy in it too. Not wanting to take any chances, he stored it in the Scrying Room down in the dungeons; he hadn't seen anything in the mist-mirror since he'd seen Pettigrew.

He waited for something to happen, and studied while he did. After lunch, Harry's pendant buzzed, and Dumbledore asked him to come to Headquarters for a moment. Tallon obliged, quickly teleporting via his ring to the castle. Soon after he arrived, Ron, Neville, Hermione, and Ginny came down.

"I forgot to send these to you," Dumbledore said, and gave them their letters for Hogwarts.

Harry tore his open, and grinned when he saw the paper saying that he could use magic outside of school now. Of course, they'd been using magic all summer, which meant that this paper hadn't really meant anything. Following the announcement paper, came the annual Hogwarts letters saying he'd been accepted into Hogwarts: School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, blah, blah, blah, and what he'd need, blah, blah, blah. He merely skimmed through it, taking note of the new texts he might need; it turned out to be a lot. They were all NEWT level books, ones he hadn't bothered to buy.

"Is the defense teacher the same?" Neville asked.

Dumbledore smiled, "Yes, it seems the 'curse' of Defense Against the Dark Arts has been broken for the first time in seven years."

Harry grinned, thinking about all the professors they'd had, only three being decent, not counting the fact that one was a Death Eater in disguise, of course. However, his gaze was caught by the stunned look on Ron's face. He was holding something in his palm, eyes the size of saucers, jaw hanging open, just waiting for a fly to come in.

"What is it mate?" asked Harry, just as Mrs. Weasley and the twins came in.

Ron gulped, and showed a golden badge that had the initials 'H.B.' on it.

Harry's face split into a wide grin, going from ear to ear. "Brilliant!" he exclaimed.

"What? What's brilliant?" Hermione asked absently, still looking at her letter.

"Ron's Head _Boy!_" Ginny squealed, jumping up and down with her letter.

Mrs. Wealsey immediately wheeled around, and grabbed Ron in a rib-crushing hug as tears streamed from her eyes. "Third one in the family!" she cried, "Quidditch captain too! Oh Ronald!"

Harry realized something and began to laugh hysterically. Ron's face went red as his mother finally released him. "Harry!" Hermione chided. "Don't laugh!"

"It's—not—that!" Harry gasped as he rolled on the floor.

"What?" Ron asked.

"Mirror!" Harry choked.

"He's gone mental," the twins chorused sadly.

Harry shook his head as he laughed. "Mirror—first year—Ron—Head Boy and Captain!_"_

Ron's eyes widened as realization hit him. "The Mirror of Erised!" he exclaimed, "Bloody hell, mate, you're right!" then he too began to laugh; leaving the others very confused, yet very proud; only Dumbledore understood.

* * *

_(A/N: Sorry about the terribly short length, I promise the next chapter will be much longer! I felt like a funny note would be a good place to stop, considering what lies ahead. grins evilly Hopefully the next chapter shall be updated soon! My apologies for the inconvenience. –A.S.Leif)

* * *

_

**Coming Up:**

Revealed

Friend of Foe?

**Then:**

Durmstrang

Leech

* * *


	25. My Apologies About This

**I'm Terribly Sorry About This**

Due to finals, which are this week, I have been banned from the computer, and so I won't be able to post any chapters until the fifth of June (2005). I'm very sorry about this, but annoyed sigh parents are persistant. If you would just be kind enough to wait, I will have the fic up and running a.s.a.p. Thank you so much! A.S.Leif

* * *

**Review Response:**

_Ouch! A lot of Ron dislikers in the mix, aren't there? Personally, I like Ron, and I think he deserves a little reward now and then. In my fic, Harry doesn't exactly **want** the responsibility of being Head Boy, and so he doesn't become it. Yes, I know some people think Ron's stupid, but he isn't in my opinion. You can't be stupid and be good at chess, and also, in Power the Dark Lord Knows Not, Ron became quite the Prefect, earning respect from **all** houses, something none of the other Prefects managed to do.

* * *

_

**P.S.:****_I have a question, do you want me to go a bit more into Splikvin's life during her banishment? Something is going to happen in a future chapter, but whether or not it's described in detail is up to you. Please tell me what you think, thank you_**


	26. An Ally Is Won

**Chapter 25**

_(A/N: Thank you, dearest reviewers, for your opinions on the level of detail in the following chapters. As always, I hope they do not disappoint you! A.S.Leif)_

For roughly the entire day after, Harry received strong prickles from his scar. Although he was able to throw off Snape in Occlumency practice, he wasn't sure how fast he'd be able to get Voldemort out.

Tallon kept alert for any major changes in the prickling, trying to detect certain emotions. He thought he sensed anger, or maybe frustration, but the feeling faded before he could be sure.

He mentioned it to Sirius and Remus, both of who looked at each other worriedly. "What?" demanded Harry.

Padfoot took a breath, "Sel and Dung went out on a mission last night; it could be them."

Harry had been debating whether or not to tell them about the emotions, but one look at Remus' paling face convinced him to do so. "It feels like he's angry," said Harry, "So they're probably OK." This only seemed to ease them a little bit.

That evening, the Order held another meeting. Once again they practiced patroni, and finally everyone was able to conjure a solid one, and about two-thirds of them could summon Challengers.

Dumbledore called for everyone's attention near the end of the meeting. "I have received a visit from-" he was cut off as the front doors burst open. A large, black disfigured creature dragged itself inside. The Order members jumped to their feet, wands in hand. Then, Harry lowered his, realizing that it wasn't a creature, but two people, one dragging the other.

Dung struggled to keep Splikvin supported on his shoulder, his face sweating and a long gash on his cheek dripped crimson trails down his face. His robes were tattered on the bottom, and covered in mud. Splikvin herself was soaked, and not just with water. Her head lolled as one leg dragged behind her while Dung kept her going.

"Selena!" Remus and Snape both exclaimed, but there was no humor found in the simultaneous worry.

There was a flurry of movement as the Order rushed to help the two injured members. Dung released his burden with a grateful sigh, and collapsed onto one of the couches as Mrs. Weasley saw to him, her dislike of the back-street-dealer not apparent in the slightest manner. He pulled out his pipe wearily, but fell unconscious before he could light it.

Harry cleared a couch for Splikvin as Ron and Hermione left at a run to fetch Madame Pomfrey. The Defense professor didn't look good. Her face was paler than Snape's, due to the blood loss from the wound in her side, and her leg. From her left knee down, Splikvin's pant leg was torn and bloody. The marks looked like they had been made by the bite of an animal, the gouge across her ribs by claws, big ones too. Harry recognized them as the marks of Razghouls, dark creatures that were a mix of wolf and phantoms. "Ambush," she croaked, "Near the drop-in point."

"Hush," Remus commanded, "You can report later." Harry looked at Dumbledore, how did the enemy know where the drop-in point was? The drop-in point was the area a few miles from here where the Order could apperate to, since there were wards around Headquarters that wouldn't allow such transportation.

The Headmaster's eyes had been grave when he was beginning his announcement, but now they had a deeper sense of gravity in them; it made Harry curious. He stepped aside as Snape came back with a potion in hand: the blood replenishing potion. Snape knelt down by the couch and began to administer it as Ron and Hermione returned with the Nurse. She instantly began to rant at Dumbledore, telling him that he shouldn't give the Order members such dangerous missions.

"It needed to be done Poppy," Dumbledore replied.

She glared, "Sending an envoy to dark creatures? That needs to be done by professionals! They're dangerous!"

"Watch it, Poppy!" snapped Splikvin, jerking into an upright position.

"Sit _still_," ordered her twin, gently pushing her back down. Harry, Sirius, Hermione, Ron, and practically the rest of the Order were glaring at the matron as well; all except Remus anyways, who brushed the comment aside with a wave of his hand.

"Vill you be alright, Professor?" asked Krum.

She smiled tightly, her face a bit less pale. "No worse than what happened in your third year, Victor." She said; Krum grinned slightly.

After the potion did its work, Madame Pomfrey took over. He healed the cut on Dung's face, along with his sprained ankle. Then she tried to heal Splikvin, but the wounds proved stubborn. "What _did_ this?" the Nurse muttered angrily as the cuts

Splikvin opened her mouth, but coughed. "Razgouls," Harry answered, Splikvin nodded in agreement. Mrs. Weasley shooed the members away from the two injured ones, making them sit elsewhere if they wanted to remain in the room. _She'd make a good assistant for Madame Pomfrey,_ Harry thought wryly as he sank into an armchair.

Though Dung was snoring on his couch, Splikvin refused to fall asleep until she reported. Mme. Pomfrey was equally stubborn in not allowing her to report until the wounds had been fixed. Eventually they were, with a little help from Remus, who knew that werewolf wounds were similar to the ones Razghouls administered. Snape himself sat in a nearby chair, drumming his fingers on the armrests while Draco paced, rubbing his arm while he did so. The Slytherin seemed to be arguing with himself about something, something Harry couldn't name.

"_Finally,_" Splikvin grumbled in Parsletongue as the nurse succeeded in closing the gash on her ribs.

"You should change clothe-" Mme. Pomfrey began.

"Not now, Poppy." Growled Splikvin, panting slightly. She took a breath, and began her report. "We made it to the castle on schedule, no hold ups or major incidents occurred. After I shifted, we were granted a meeting with the elders of the clan."

"Elders of what clan?" inquired Ron, who was shushed by Hermione.

"The Vampires of Feltelone." Splikvin answered, and took another breath to steady herself; Harry supposed that blood-loss had made her dizzy. "We were third in line to be heard, and it went fairly well for the most part. They listened, adjourned for the night to think about it, and granted us a stay in the castle for the day. The following evening, we were summoned back to the council chamber, where we received a reply."

"What was it?" asked Sirius.

"Quiet Black," snapped the Potions Master.

Splikvin gave her brother a meaningful look, and answered. "They agreed, but on certain terms."

"Amnesty?" inquired Fleur.

She smiled slightly. "Not quite, but close. They ask that the Ministry of Magic repeals all acts that confirm vampires as Evil creatures, saying that they prefer the term 'night beings' or 'individuals of a unique bloodline', and all acts which restrict the job opportunities that affect their cousins who do not live with a clan."

Mr. Weasley rubbed the back of his neck. "It might be possible; the 'Evil' term's been under debate for several years, along with the label given werewolves. The job restrictions though, there isn't one that specifically places restrictions on employing vampires and werewolves, it's really the owner of the store or employment…" he trailed off.

Basically, the bosses were too afraid or hateful of 'evil creatures' to hire one; the thought angered Harry beyond belief. He looked at Splikvin, "You said it went fairly well for the most part, what's the other part?"

She smiled grimly. "We have two days to respond. And should we refuse their terms of agreement, they will join Voldemort, who promised them similar things."

The Order fell silent, some of their eyes widening slightly.

"Should've known," muttered Moody as his magical eyes whizzed about.

"I'll see that it's done." Promised Mr. Weasley, "Amelia won't object, I'm certain."

"Thank you Arthur," said Dumbledore, "And thank you, Selena, for bringing us the news."

She nodded, bracing herself as she swayed slightly. "When was the last time you slept?" demanded Madame Pomfrey.

Splikvin raised a tired eyebrow. "I don't recall." This response caused Mme. Pomfrey's eyes to bulge, "_What?_ You don't _recall_? Selena!" The defense professor merely smirked in reply, before her head dropped and she fell unconscious; thankfully she didn't begin to snore, unlike Dung.

"I think that is enough for the evening, Harry if you have any visions, please do not hesitate to tell me" Dumbledore said, "Tomorrow will be better suited for any more news, however. Safe travels home, for all of you." Thus, the members of the Order of the Phoenix slowly began to leave, with those who were currently staying at Headquarters remaining, along with Dumbledore, Draco, Harry, Sirius, Remus, Snape, Poppy, and the two unconscious members.

As Tallon went into another room and sat down, he found Draco pacing in there already. "What's bothering you?" he asked the Slytherin.

"None of your business," he growled in reply.

Harry was taken slightly aback. "It is if you're acting this weird about it," He retorted.

Draco sneered, "It's not your place to go poking your obnoxious Gryffindor Golden Boy nose around in other peoples' business."

Harry stood up, "What's _wrong_ with you?" he demanded, "Why are you being such a—a _git_?"

He sneered again, "What's wrong with _me_? How about what's wrong with the rest of the Order? Merlin forbid if their precious Potter gets ickle ticklings in his scar, but if someone who actually _does_ something gets hurt, who cares?"

Harry blinked, his face a mask of confusion and disbelief; was Draco _jealous_? "Of course people care!" he exclaimed.

Draco snorted, "Yeah right. They care more about someone who doesn't do a single thing."

"You've got no _idea_ Malfoy!" he spat bitterly.

"Oh really? How are _you_ doing something more important than the rest of us?" demanded Draco, voice rising. "You just sit around letting others do the dirty work fighting the Dark Lord."

"_I'M THE ONE WHO HAS TO KILL HIM YOU IDIOT!_"

Draco froze, and none of them noticed the others standing in the doorway. Harry cringed, realizing what he'd just said.

"You're lying." The Slytherin said coldly.

"I wish I was," he said bitterly between clenched teeth.

"Prove it then," Draco said heatedly.

"And why should I?_" _Harry demanded.

"Because you've been hiding that and I want to know if you're telling the truth!"

Harry finally realized the others staring at him; all those who hadn't gone home, besides Dung and Splikvin, were standing there. Only Snape didn't seem surprised at the news.

"Hiding what Harry?" Remus asked softly.

Harry's shoulders slouched. "The prophecy," he answered quietly, "The one Voldemort was after in fifth year. The reason my mum and dad died." He sat back down heavily, staring at the floor as he repeated what it said; silence followed.

"You'll either die, or kill?" Hermione whispered.

Harry nodded, looking up. "I'm sorry I didn't tell any of you, I just didn't want any of you to be distracted by it."

Draco looked away when Harry turned his towards him. "Sorry, about what I said." The Slytherin mumbled, "I suppose it's not entirely true." Though the 'entirely' part stung, Harry accepted it.

"Did _anyone_ know?" asked Sirius.

"Me, Dumbledore…" he paused, glancing at Snape: the potions master's expression made it clear that it was Harry's choice. "And Professor Snape."

Sirius' eyes widened, he spun around to face the head Slytherin. "How did _you_ know?"

Snape smirked, "I was told by Potter."

"What the- _why?_"

The professor shrugged, an awkward gesture for him, although he was clearly enjoying the surprise and annoyance of Sirius. "He requested to start Occlumency again, I required him to tell me why." Sirius' face was flushed, but thankfully he said nothing more.

"Does Voldemort know?" asked Hermione; several people flinched.

"Not about the last part," Harry murmured.

Ron clapped him on the shoulder, "We'll help ya mate, no physco-maniac is goin' to get the better of you; promise."

* * *

Harry smiled at his friend in thanks; he was going to need their help, he knew it.

Harry spent the morning with Alex, telling her what he had told the Order last night. She was silent for a while, thinking about it. Eventually she leaned closer to Harry. "I'll be there," she whispered, "But be careful."

"Only if you do the same," Harry replied, putting an arm around her.

There were several attacks on muggles later that day, but the Ministry got them under control. Mr. Weasley was also able to convince the other Minister to agree to the vampire clan's requests, and thus, a response was sent north to the 'night beings' saying that their wishes had been fulfilled. A messenger of the vampire clan was present at the Order meeting that night; he spoke mainly with Splikvin, who had assumed her vampire animagus form though was forced to remain sitting thanks to Madame Pomfrey, before and until the meeting began.

The vampire thanked the Order graciously, assuring them that, should they ask for it, the clan of Feltelone would answer them in times of need, and fight beside them in the battle against Voldemort. It was a crisp, intelligent speech, but one that Harry had a bit of trouble following. Surprisingly enough, it was Spyridon who told Harry what it meant; apparently he could understand all human speech, but not respond in the same manner.

Once Tylore, the vampire representative, left Headquarters, Dumbledore continued with the news he'd been about to give yesterday. "Now, several weeks ago, Sirius experienced a strange thing." Began the Headmaster. "He felt as if he was coming out of the veil in the Department of Mysteries once more. We surmised that perhaps Voldemort had brought another back through it, bringing them to life once more: this has been deemed true." There were several sharp intakes of breath throughout the room. Dumbledore went on, "However, what is not true is the idea that the person Voldemort brought back was devoted to his side; though he once was, he is no longer." Quite of few members straightened in both curiosity and wariness. "Ladies and gentlemen, he came to me a few days ago, and was tested under Veritaserum; his intentions are pure." Dumbledore checked his watch, "He should be arriving soon from Hogwarts." At that moment, the fireplace roared into green flames, and someone stepped out.

He had black, greasy hair, a hooked nose, and a powerful build. He was dressed in black robes, and his coal black eyes met Dumbledore's. Splikvin and Snape both paled, and Harry clenched the armrests of his chair.

It was Algor Snape.

* * *

**Coming Up:**

An Oh-So-Wonderful Family Reunion

Durmstrang

**Then:**

Final Plan

* * *

_(A/N: Heheheheh, I love ending chapters like that. Hope you enjoyed!_)

**Review Response:**

**All Reviewers in General:** _Thank you for your support and/or opinions! Heh, I aced my Earth Science final! Muahahahahahaha!_


	27. Never Forgive, Never Forget

**Chapter 26**

"Headmaster," the man back from the dead greeted formally.

"Algor, right on time." Replied Dumbledore, his eyes weretwinkling but at the same time were grave and concerned.

The room was silent as the Order looked at the man who had been in Voldemort's inner circle, the man who had been one of the most ruthless Death Eaters during the first war. _And now he's supposedly gone away from all that_? Harry thought, not trusting the man an inch. However, he then remembered Splikvin's boggart, and couldn't help but wonder how the two Snapes felt; it had to be worse than what he was.

Snape was sitting stiff-backed in his chair, his jaw clenched and his face an impassable mask. However, his eyes burned with anger and the tiniest fleck of fear, revealing his feelings towards his father. Harry had never dreamed he'd see Severus Snape afraid of someone, even during the attack on Hogwarts, where Snape had been revealed as a spy, the potions master hadn't so much as blinked when face to face with Voldemort.

Splikvin was not so blank. She was glaring at Algor Snape with more hatred than Harry had ever seen on someone's face, but it belied the fear that shone in her eyes. She was completely rigid, as if debating whether to fight or flee her father, the one who had banished her and threatened to kill Severus.

"Algor, may I introduce you to the Order of the Phoenix?" Dumbledore motioned to the others sitting in the room and began to say the members' names, last only. Snape Sr. greeted each person with a nod, his eyes betraying nothing. When they met Harry's, Tallon fought the urge not to shudder; they seemed empty, like bottomless pits that had seen many horrors—they belonged to a dead man.

However, Dumbledore managed to skip Snape and Splikvin, and Algor didn't seem to notice. Harry, on the other hand, felt the shadows in the room stretch, hiding the two from sight at the moment.

'_Smuck?_' he called silently, _'Is it you doing that?'_

'_Aye,_' replied the sprite, '_Harm shall befall the man should Selena speak with him. Best to avoid her temper or she shall start punching walls and I will be left to deal with her anger._' Though the 'punching walls' part confused him slightly, Harry said no more.

Dumbledore continued, "As I said, Algor is perfectly capable of being trusted, though he must remain hidden from the Ministry—too many questions would follow the news of his return to the living world." The Order members nodded in agreement, though some were more reluctant than others. "Please, Algor, have a seat."

The man sat with a nod, in an armchair not far from Splikvin's. He kept his blank gaze on Dumbledore though, and did not see his daughter, who had her jaw clenched and her eyes closed, obviously fighting an inner argument; Harry wondered if anyone else could see her and Snape. "What has occurred recently is that we have gained the alliance of the Vampire clan Feletone and several attacks on muggles." At this, Algor's eyes flashed somewhat with what looked like angst; perhaps he was remembering his days as a Death Eater. "Other than that, we are waiting for Voldemort to make his next move."

The meeting went on from there, though the calm was forced rather than by mutual agreement. Several members reported on what they had seen or heard recently, and there was a bit of practicing on patroni.

When it ended, many of the Order members went home, though a few remained to talk to the others. Splikvin herself immediately began to leave the room, heading for the nearest, doorway. Unfortunately, Algor chose to leave with Dumbledore at that same moment. The elder Snape lightly brushed against Splikvin, "Apologies," he murmured. Splikvin nodded and made to continue through. However, Algor did a double-take. "Helen?" he said, and caught Splikvin's arm, confusion written all over his face.

Splikvin turned to face him, her expression blank as she jerked her arm from his hold. "No." she answered coldly, and turned around to go through a different doorway. Algor wasn't easily shaken though, and he followed her. "I do not believe we were introduced," he said, walking up to her. Sensing trouble, Harry stood up, and noticed that several of his friends did the same; Snape and Remus did too.

"And we don't need to be," Splikvin growled.

Algor lightly grasped her arm again and made her face him. His eyes were searching her face, and Harry noticed that Splikvin's arm was shaking slightly. "Let her go," Snape ordered, stepping out of the shadows.

Algor looked at him, mild surprise showing through his eyes as he recognized his son. "Severus?" The potions master nodded stiffly, wand at his side. Algor then looked back at Splikvin, "Selena?" he whispered.

"Yes," she replied and jerked her arm away once more then continued to leave.

"We need to talk," her father said firmly, stepping in her way. His voice was firm, one used to being obeyed; it made the hairs on the back of Harry's neck stand up.

Splikvin's hands trembled slightly, "No, we don't." she replied. "Now get out of my way."

Algor looked surprised at her refusal. "You need to understand." He said, reaching out to grasp her arm again.

Splikvin automatically smacked his hand aside and stepped backwards. "Don't touch me again," she said, voice low and deadly. Harry noticed that she wouldn't meet her father's eyes.

He stepped back as well, "I must explain."

Splikvin's aura began to spark slightly, "For what?" she snapped.

"Everything."

She sneered at him, "Too late for that old man. What's done is done, and you will _never _be able to change it."

Algor's face hardened, "Hear me out."

"Why should I?" she demanded; Harry could feel Smuck growing agitated as the shadows leapt throughout the room.

Dumbledore intervened before the situation could get worse, "Selena, Algor, perhaps this should be discussed in another room."

"Nothing needs to be discussed," she growled, and turned to walk away. Snape stopped her near the other doorway, and he spoke quietly so no one else could hear him, though from his position, Harry heard them clearly.

"Selena, nothing is going to happen, no one will get hurt."

She looked angrily at the floor. "You don't know that Sev…"

"I do. Let's just hear what he has to say, and get it over with. You don't need to say anything to him; you don't have to even look at him. What is the point in ignoring something you can use later?"

She grimaced. "You can't just pretend like nothing happened Severus," Splikvin said bitterly, "You can't ignore the past, people will use it against you. What's the point in giving them more to use?"

"This is not one of those times Selena," Snape replied firmly, "Do you think I enjoy this situation any more than you do? I endured him after you left, you can do the same for a few minutes."

Splikvin flinched. "Fine."

The three Snapes left with Dumbledore, leaving several confused yet anxious Order members behind in the meeting room. "What do you think is going to happen?" Harry asked Padfoot and Moony.

"I'm not sure," Remus replied, "I don't even know why they hate him so much."

Sirius snorted. "I can understand it, if he was anything like my dear old mum." Harry scratched his head, wondering if Algor had been the same or, most likely, worse.

"Can't you ask the elements what's going on in there?" Ron asked Harry, glancing at the door the four had left through.

"I could, but I won't." Harry replied firmly, "Privacy is a person's right; as Head Boy, you should remember that."

Ron blushed, "Oh yeah, sorry." The Weasley sighed, "I don't even know why Dumbledore made me Head Boy; you'd make a better one."

"I don't want to be it," Harry said, "And an unwilling person is no better than someone who can't do it at all."

Sirius chuckled, "Which wise man are _you_, Tallon?" he joked; Harry smiled slightly.

"Not you, that's for sure" he retorted jokingly, and dodged the chess piece his godfather threw at him. The knight squealed its protest, but was ignored at Harry tackled his godfather in werewolf form. Sirius transformed into a dog and they began to wrestle, Remus soon joined in, along with Ron; the tension in the room eased as some of the Order members began to laugh, though a couple rolled their eyes.

Eventually the dog-pile (literally) ceased, and the wizards returned to normal form, panting slightly and flushed, but laughing. They cooled off, and then the door burst open. Splikvin stalked out, shaking with fury. _Uh-oh_, Harry thought, feeling the room heat up; it was a good thing she was not an elemental, though at this moment Harry wondered if that were true.

Her aura was flaring in colors of poisonous green, black, silver, ice blue,and blood red as she paced, hands shoved into the pockets of her robe. Her face was stony, but cold waves of fury pressed down on everyone in the room. Even the Weasley twins, who'd justentered, were somber: she was not to be messed with at the moment.

Milliseconds later, Algor Snape came out, with a protesting Dumbledore trailing behind. "Algor-" he began in a slightly warning voice.

The elder Snape ignored him, walking over to Splikvin. "Why won't you just accept it?" he demanded angrily.

She glared at him, her aura dimming slightly. "How can I accept something thatis impossible to believe?"Splikvin demanded."Never forgive, never forget; remember?" she sneered, "I suppose I learned my lessons a bit too well."

"Lessons can be unlearned," he growled, eyes flashing as his hands clenched into white-knuckled fists.

Splikvin punched her father, sending him crashing across the room. Remus automatically grabbed her from behind. "_But years can't be given back!_" she hissed at her father. "There's no damn way my years of banishment can be undone!"

Algor wiped his bleeding nose on the back of his hand as he glared back up at Splikvin. "I did what I needed to in order to protect you!" he hissed back.

If it hadn't been for Remus, Splikvin probably would have punched him again as he got up. Harry saw that Snape clearly wanted to do the same, but remained unmoving in the doorway.

"You have an odd definition of _protection_," Splikvin snarled. "Normally _protecting_someonedoesn't include harmingthem!" Algor glared at her and stalked out of the room. Once Dumbledore followed him out and shut the door, Remus let Splikvin go.

"Calm down Selena," he said soothingly, forcing her to sit down. Harry was amazed that Moony wasn't unnerved in the slightest, everyone else was.

"How the hell am I supposed to be _calm_?" she snapped.

"Thus speaks the infamous Snape temper," Remussighed amusedly.

"By deep breathing," Sirius answered her cheerfully, though his tone wasn't as light as usual when he joked about something. Splikvin began to swear under her breath in Parsletongue, causing Harry's eyes to widen in surprise at her colorful language. But that didn't help; she got up and began to pace again, her aura still visible. "Selena," Snape said irately, "If _I _can be calm, so can you."

"Does it look like that?" she retorted, eyes still sparking with anger.

He rolled his eyes and walked over to her.

"Severus…" she growled, aura sparking further as he reached out with a hand, "Don't you even damn think about it."

"Already have," he replied and swiftly grabbed her wrist. Before she could so much as blink, Snape gently pressed on the center of her left palm with his thumb. Splikvin's eyes rolled back and her aura went out like a light; Snape caught her as she fell.

"What'd you _do_?" Sirius asked, eyes wide.

"Pressure point," Snape replied bluntly, and set his twin on one of the couches. "Make sure she doesn't wake up with him in here; that shouldn't be for another three hours and ten minutes." Harry noticed Smuck crawl out from Splikvin's shadow and settle on her shoulder, eyes meeting Harry's as Snape left.

_'If only I had known how to do that years ago,_' the sprite sighed, _'It would have made calming her so much easier._'

Harry had to smile at that.

* * *

**Coming Up:**

Durmstrang

Family Past

**Then:**

Planning

Fight

* * *


	28. Durmstrang

**Chapter 27**

_(A/n: Sorry about the delay, the computer had to be taken down for a couple days.Hopefully I will still be able to finish the story by the time HP&THBP comes out!)_

Headquarters was a tense place to be the following day. Splikvin was still furious at Algor and annoyed at Snape. Harry could tell that she was distracted though, because he beat her quicker in practice dueling than usual.

Harry was playing chess with Ron—and loosing horribly—when the fireplace roared into life; Krum came out running. His robes were covered in soot, and not just from the fireplace. There was a scorch mark on his cheek and slight burns on the hem of his robes. His eyes met Harry's. "Vhere is Professor Epans?" he gasped.

"The living room on this floor I think," Harry replied, standing up, "What's-" he didn't finish his question because his scar began to burn. He clutched at it, biting back the urge to scream in pain from the intensity. A cruel, maniacal laughter rang though his mind. '_See what resistance gets_?' Voldemort hissed to him as Krum left at a sprint befit a Seeker.

Harry brutally shoved at Voldemort, pushing the wizard from his mind. Laughing still, Voldemort faded, leaving Harry on his knees and gasping for air. Had he done it? Or had Voldemort left of his own accord? It was hard for him to tell with the pain. "You alright, mate?" Ron asked, kneeling next to him.

Harry nodded wearily. "Will be," he croaked. "Voldemort's happy…'bout….something."

Ron helped Harry to his feet. "Should we go tell someone?" Still trying to catch his breath, Harry nodded. However, as soon as they made for the door, more people came in. "What's going on?" Harry asked, catching Remus by the arm.

"Voldemort has attacked Durmstrang," he answered, "They were hosting a ball for the Russian, Bulgarian, French, American, and British Ministries." Harry's and Ron's eyes widened. "We're flooing ASAP to Selena's old house, she still owns it. We'll travel to Durmstrang form there; some members are going with Fawkes though."

"Meet you there," Harry said, and did a double-teleport to the Hideaway, then Durmstrang. What greeted him there brought Harry's memories of the first Headquarters' destruction. That seemed so long ago, but it was only a few weeks.

Flames leapt up from the school, smoke filled the air, and the Dark Mark glittered evilly above it all. People were yelling and screaming as others tried to douse the flames. But not matter how much water was thrown at the flames, nothing happened. Harry reached out with his elemental magic, trying to sense how much was on fire: the dungeons, Quidditch pitch, and the first to fourth floors. _Crap_, he thought; only the last two floors remained whole—for now anyways. Harry tried to use the snow that could still be found on the ground, but to no effect—the flames seemed water-proof.

He heard the pounding of feet and looked behind him: the Order had arrived. Well, half of it: Dumbledore, Sirius, Dung, Splikvin, McGonagall, Bill, and Charlie. Splikvin's eyes widened in panic and she ran over to Harry. "How much is there?" she asked, getting out her wand.

"Only the top two floors're left," he replied, coughing as smoke engulfed them.

"Get back!" the Durmstrang Headmaster ordered, "One of the towers is going to collapse!" Sure enough, the north-west tower began to shake, stones toppled, and new flames roared over the screams.

"There are _people_ in there?" Splikvin yelled.

"We couldn't get them out," Mr. Weasley, in dress robes covered with scorch marks, told her.

"To hell with that!" Splikvin growled, and ran towards the burning school.

"Selena!" exclaimed Sirius. Tallon changed into a phoenix and flew after her with Padfoot as a dog beneath him. They followed her through the flaming doorway and became human.

"What are you doing?" she demanded as she ran towards a staircase.

"Moony'll kill me if you get hurt," Sirius replied cheerfully.

"You'll get burned to a crisp without help," Harry added, and bent the flames out of their way.

Splikvin smirked slightly, "If you can do that as a phoenix, it'll help." She said as they ran up a mahogany stairwell. "Flying is quicker." Harry nodded and became a phoenix once more as Sirius turned into an eagle and Splikvin a vampire.

The smoke affected Tallon less now, and he could see more clearly through it. The intense heat he'd felt seconds before was no more than it would feel on a late spring day. Sirius kept close by him as the glided over Splikvin. When the stairs gave away, Padfoot screeched a warning. Splikvin jumped up several steps, then onto the flame-free walls, where she scuttled across them like a beetle.

They dashed down several more flame-infested hallways and up many more staircases, made of either wood or marble. Harry began to rely more and more on the warm updrafts to keep himself air born; his constant use of elemental magic to keep the flames away was draining him. Nevertheless, he flew on.

At last they reached the fifth floor. Splikvin tried to open one of the doors, but it was locked. Exerting some of her vampire abilities, she knocked the hinges off; Harry and Sirius followed her into the room in human form.

Several people were huddled near the back of the room; Harry noticed in a panic that some were children.

"Are you alright?" Splikvin yelled over the noise of another tower collapsing. Some of the people looked up, others remained still, crying silently. "Why didn't you get out through the windows?"

"They're locked," a young man with a Russian accent answered. "A spell we can't get rid of is on them."

"See," Harry muttered, and looked at the windows. He grimaced: misty green serpents were coiled around them, with darker green skulls in the middle. "End. It's Voldemort," he told Splikvin, "He's keeping them shut. I'll bet it's on each window in the castle."

Splikvin nodded and looked at the others. "Get up," she ordered, "Follow me, there's another way out other than stairs." The children were carried by the adults as Splikvin led them out at a jog. Sirius carried an unconscious woman and Harry another child; sweat trickled into his eyes from the heat.

The defense professor led them down a hall as she counted her steps, running her hand down the wall. She stopped and pushed on one of the stones three times, then rapped it with her knuckles: a passage revealed itself. "Get in!" she yelled as flames burst through a nearby door. "Slide down; it leads to the back field area." The people obliged, scrambling in one at a time. Splikvin turned around, "Sirius, go with them."

He looked like he was about to argue, but didn't. "You two be careful. Die, and I'll never forgive either of you, ever."

Harry set the kid he was carrying down, and ushered the little girl into the passage, "No worries," he told his godfather, who then slid down the passage as well.

"Let up on the magic," Splikvin told him as the passage sealed itself. "I don't want you fainting on me."

He nodded, panting, and released his magic—flames sprang up from the wooden ceiling. The two of them charged up to the last floor in one of their own animagus forms, breaking down the doors that wouldn't open. The only other place they found people was in the infirmary area, located in the last tower standing. They were mainly Ministry officials from Bulgaria and France, herded there by the flames.

"We'll take you to a passage that'll get you out," Splikvin told them as they backed nervously away. "Just follow-" The tower shook beneath their feet. Harry gasped and threw out his magic, holding the stones in place. The sudden surge of magic drained him of his physical strength, and something fought him—the stones themselves. Splikvin caught him, and lifted him over one of her shoulders.

Tallon was only dimly aware of being carried at a jog down the hall, dodging falling beams and flames. Splikvin stopped at a large scorpion statue. It bowed its head and scuttled aside, revealing a door. Harry heard it open and the group entered a room that was sharply cool in comparison to the scorching hallways. He released his hold on the tower, and immediately felt a rumble and a shake, telling that the tower had fallen.

A bookcase moved aside, and another passage appeared. Splikvin ushered the others inside, where they raced down the stairs. The bookcase moved back into place as the flames began to greedily spread into the room.

Splikvin pulled on a torch as the stairs trembled, and they flattened, creating a slide of sorts. There were several screams of fright as they plunged down the spiraling passage; Harry's head practically skimming the surface.

The rush of air brought Harry out of his daze slightly. They landed with a thump in the entrance hall, and Splikvin began to run for the doors, along with the others.

With the last of his energy, Harry pushed the flames aside so that they created an arch for them to get through. Splikvin dropped him as she jumped aside from a falling beam that was on fire. Sparks flew, and Harry dragged himself to his feet, then ran for the door. He dove into some of the remaining snow; it nearly hissed as it melted he was so warm. The coolness felt good though, and he rolled over before falling unconscious.

* * *

"We can still help it!" Splikvin's voice snapped, "It's not like we can do anything else!"

"My dear, we need to put our efforts into breaking down this shield." The firm, slightly-less-than-calm voice was familiar, but not one Harry knew well. He blinked his eyes open, and saw an acid green dome above him. He jerked upright and looked around: the dome surrounded all of Durmstrang and the people outside of it; the flames still raged on.

He looked at the people arguing: Splikvin and Headmaster Ilvgont. Several other people he didn't recognize were standing nearby as well. Padfoot was helping out with those injured nearby with Hermione, Mrs. Weasley, and Charlie. Some Order members were resting, others were talking amongst themselves.

Harry stood up, his knees a bit wobbly still. His dizziness ended after a few moments, and he was able to walk around for a bit. The argument between Splikvin and Ilvgont ended, and she came over. "Feeling any better?" she asked gruffly.

He nodded. "Thanks. What happened? How's this dome get here?"

She rubbed the back of her neck. "Voldemort showed back up soon after you blacked out. Somehow he got passed the wards the Headmasters set up, and he put this shield around us. We can't get out and, by the looks of things, nothing can get in. Not even air.

"It's only a matter of time before the fire, and us as well, use up the oxygen, and if that happens then," she shrugged, "You get the point."

Harry suppressed a shudder,_ pessimist_, he though. "What about the wards?"

Splikvin raised an eyebrow. "What about them?"

"Can't the Durmstrang wards be used to fight the dome? I know the Hogwarts ones can do something like that."

"The boy was a point," Ilvgont said, "Perhaps if activated, they could work."

"Then do it," Harry said, "It's worth a try."

Ilvgont sighed. "It is, but the Durmstrang wards are not particularly east to activate. Only someone who is keyed into them and has been re-_instated_, I suppose is the best word, recently can activate them."

"What do they have to do that makes it difficult?" asked Harry.

"Relive the time they were first keyed into the wards," he answered gravely. "Though that in itself is not terribly hard, the temptation to change what has been done is. Also, anyone within a mile radius of the school will see the activator's memories, thus, it is more a matter of trust and comfort on their part." Harry blinked, creepy.

"Who was the last person re-instated, then?" Splikvin asked.

Ilvgont looked at her, "You."

"_What_!" Splikvin exclaimed, "How can I be the last person? I was keyed in when I was _fifteen!_"

He sighed. "Yes, but you were re-instated more recently than I, and none of your colleagues are here."

She glared. "I was re-instated when I took the job, you were five years ago."

Ilvgont lowered his gaze. "I also re-instated you when you told me you were planning to leave.

Splikvin frowned in thought, then growled in annoyance. "Fine, let's get this over with, and pray that it works."

The Headmaster of Durmstrang nodded and pulled out a mirror. He traced several runes around the edges and let go. The mirror hovered in the air and glowed with a copper light. It then began to enlarge, growing taller and wider until an adult could see themselves entirely. A picture began to grow in it, foggy and unclear. Splikvin took a breath, "Have everyone ready once I finish." She said.

Ilvgont nodded. "Be careful, you must not change anything."

"I'm not an idiot," she grumbled, and walked through the mirror.

* * *

Harry felt something jerk him in a hundred different directions. Thousands of colors rushed in front of his eyes, leaving Harry disoriented. When at last things steadied, he was no longer standing near Durmstrang, but on a dimly-lit street. It was night, witout a cloud in the sky. Harry was guided to a grey building near the end of the street, and he thought he saw flickers of other people that were at Durmstrang with him. He then saw others he knew, namely from the Order: Dumbledore, Sirius, Remus, Snape, Ron, McGonagall, and Ilvgont; they flickered in an out of his vision, giving him a headache.

Harry was pulled through the main doors of the building and through a dim hall, then up a flight of stairs into another hallway. There was an indoor balcony hanging over this hall, and Harry spotted a thin but sturdy rope dangling from it. Looking at the ground, he saw a loop of rope—it was a trap. However, the rope blended in well with the rough tan carpet and faded brown walls, hiding it so that only if you knew what to look for would you see it. Someone not paying attention could easily fall into whatever trap it was.

A stifled laugh drew Harry's gaze back to the balcony: a pair of mean-looking teenage boys were waiting, while a third came down the stairs. He passed through the flickering form of Ilvgont, who seemed unconcerned—Harry found it unnerving. The teen had a fishing line and tied one end to a bar that held up the banister of the stairs at ankle-height, then tied the other to a nail in the wall a little ways down the hall at the same height.

Harry was wondering what on earth all this had to do with Splikvin when a fourth teenager came into the hall. It was a fifteen year old girl, with curtains of greasy, shoulder-length black hair that covered most of her face and pale skin. She was dressed in a black, baggy sweatshirt and a pair of jeans that were also too large—it was Splikvin.

She was readying something as she walked, unaware of the rope the boys had set up. Harry saw the uneasy looks on the flickering faces of Sirius, Remus, and Dumbledore, and felt the same. When Splikvin's foot stepped in the rope-hoop, the boys on the balcony pulled, laughing as Splikvin was caught and dragged until she dangled two feet in the air.

Snape was glaring murderously at the three boys, and Sirius and Remus cringed; this was too much like Snape's worst memory for anyone's liking. Harry thought he saw the adult Splikvin appear for a moment in her younger selves' place, but when he blinked, he didn't see anything other than what was happening.

The teenage Splikvin pulled herself up and cut the rope with a knife, and she dropped to the ground. She scrambled to her feet, only to be tripped by the fishing line. The third boy came out and grabbed her by the hood of her sweatshirt as he laughed something at her.

Splikvin glared at the teen and punched him in the gut; he released her with a gasp. However, the boy punched her in the jaw in return, splitting her lip. He hissed a taunt at her in Bulgarian and Splikvin kicked him in the groin as she sneered something in return. The two boys on the balcony ran down the stairs and joined the fight, kicking and punching angrily. Harry couldn't help but wonder why no one had heard the fight.

A sudden bang caused the three boys to be blown backwards into various walls. Harry looked to the left and saw another teenager in the hall, but he was dressed in dark blue robes and held a wand upraised. His appearance rang a bell in the back of Harry's mind. With the other boys unconscious, this new one lowered his wand and walked over to Splikvin. He knelt next to her and muttered something.

"I'm _fine_," Splikvin snapped, pushing herself off the ground. Her voice was gruff and angry; she winced slightly.

The teen rolled his eyes. "You were tackled into a wall, punched, and kicked," he said in a drawl, "You've got a cracked rib at least; that isn't what most people consider 'fine'."

"I told you I'm _fine_!" she growled, wiping the blood off her lip and nose.

"_Right_, you've probably got a concussion too." He reached out to steady her, but Splikvin jerked away.

"I'm-" she stopped as she swayed, eyes becoming unfocused as she lost consciousness.

"Not fine," the teen muttered in finish and caught her. He pulled something out of his pocket and said, "Falcon."

Harry felt a jerk behind his navel and found himself once again standing in the Durmstrang Infirmary. It looked a lot different when there wasn't a fire. Time seemed to speed up as the teen put Splikvin on one of the beds. A young man came out of the office, shook his head, and began to inspect Splikvin, not seeming surprised in the least. It was like watching a movie on fast forward to Harry, but soon time slowed as the sun rose and Splikvin woke.

"Only two weeks into summer and I still end up in the fucking infirmary," she growled to herself as she sat up in the bed. She popped her neck before swinging her legs over the side; the mysterious teenager walked in.

"Feeling better?" he asked smugly, "I told you you weren't fine."

"Shove it Karkaroff," she growled, "I didn't need any bloody help." Harry stared; that was _Karkaroff?_

Karkaroff smirked. "A 'thank you' would be appreciated."

She sneered at him. "I'll thank you once you tell me why the hell you were there."

He shrugged. "I'm not stupid. I know you get into trouble over the summer. I decided to visit. The Headmaster wants to see you, by the way. Now thank me, it's polite."

She rolled her eyes. "_Thanks_," she hissed in Parsletongue.

He looked confused. "What?"

She smirked, looking a lot like Snape. "That's the part where you say 'you're welcome'." With that, she left the infirmary at a jog. She traveled down several halls, stopping on occasion to say hello to some of the portraits that were snakes. When she arrived at a falcon statue, she said: "Gnartsmrud" and it moved aside.

Inside the room was the Headmaster's office. It wasn't Ilvgont, but a man in his late fifties with grey hair and sharp black eyes.

"You asked to see me Sir?" Splikvin said bluntly.

He nodded. "Yes. Please, have a seat." She sat in one of the chairs. "Tell me, how has your summer been going?"

"Normal." She replied.

"I am sure you will be able to leave soon," he said, slightly gently.

"Meanin' in a year," she said bitterly. "It's not like some muggle is going to want a temperamental, greasy-haired witch for a kid."

"You didn't always think of yourself that way." He replied. She looked sharply at the Headmaster.

He looked back at her with a hint of sadness in his eyes. "Selena, I know you were once different. I know your parents did not really die at sea. I know that you have gone to Hogwarts and," His voice grew slightly quieter, but it was just as serious. "That you are bitter because you left your brother."

Splikvin stood abruptly and made for the door—it disappeared. "Let me out," she growled, "I don't want to talk about it."

"Then allow me to talk about it," the Headmaster replied, she glared. "Selena, I need you to look at something, I will not let you leave until you do." He stood an uncovered a mirror. It was large and silver-backed, bearing an uncanny resemblance to the Mirror of Erised. Splikvin reluctantly walked over, still glaring.

"Put a hand on it," he instructed, "And look at it."

Splikvin did so and pictures began to flash by: they were her memories. Harry caught glimpses of the pictures he'd seen in Snape's photo album, along with scenes with other students. Harry saw Splikvin joking with the Marauders, mimicking the professor in potions, and laughing with his mom. The Splikvin outside the mirror-memories smiled fleetingly as she watched.

The Headmaster smiled slightly as well, his sharp eyes becoming less hard. "You see? You were a much happier person. Life will be easier if you only become that person again."

Splikvin's smile vanished quicker than a shadow at noon, and she looked away from the mirror, though her hand remained on it. "Looks can be deceiving," she said stonily, and the images in the mirror changed. A young Splikvin was dueling with her father, being blown into the wall or burned, but getting up each time… she used the Cruciatus on a bird for practice…she exercised with knives, Algor yelling at her to go faster…she was kneeling before a red-eyed wizard in the middle of a ring of Death Eaters, her wand at his feet…

Splikvin took her hand from the mirror, causing the images to vanish. "Life is never easy Sir," she said in a quiet, bitter voice. "But we do what we have to, and learned to deal with it. My life is no different." She turned and walked to the door, which had reappeared.

"You will always be welcome here Selena," the Headmaster told her solemnly as she opened the door. "You will always be able to call this place your home."

She nodded, "Thank you Sir." A gentle copper light shone in the room, and Harry closed his eyes as Splikvin walked through him. When he opened his eyes, he was back in his own time.

* * *

His gaze was drawn to the mirror, and Splikvin stumbled out—she was still fifteen though. Durmstrang shone with a bright copper light as the flames vanished, and the Headmaster smiled. "If you all would be so kind as to hex the barrier," he said, voice carrying over everything, "I would be much obliged."

Even some of the children got out their wands, and the dome flickered for a moment. More curses were hurled and the light from Durmstrang struck at the barrier under Splikvin's direction.

Finally, the barrier broke with a crash, splintering into pieces of raw magic before vanishing altogether. Harry snatched the opportunity to test his theory, and grinned as, flushed and panting, it worked. He released it, and collapsed once more.

* * *

**Coming Up:**

Plans

**Then:**

Fight or Flight

* * *

**Review Response:**

diablosdarkness: I'm not sure, I don't think so though.

PsychicLunar: Sorry to disappoint you; who's Regulus?

* * *

_(A/N: There's been a change in plans for the plotline of the story. If you remember in the **Then** or **Coming Up** the word 'Leech' ignore it. That part has been deleted from the plotline. Sorry for the confusion if it occurred)_


	29. Plans & Potions Nonsense

**Chapter 28**

Harry woke up in Headquarters hospital area, with Splikvin in another bed and Remus and Sirius next to him in chairs. "You alright kiddo?" Sirius asked, his face tired.

Harry nodded, yawning. "I'm fine, was just-_yawn_- tryin' something."

"What was it?" Remus asked.

Harry grinned, and explained his last experiment; his guardians' faces were shocked. "See?" he said, still grinning, "If it all goes right, I won't have to kill anyone."

Remus looked pensive, but Sirius looked worried. "I don't like the idea of you getting that close thought," Padfoot said, "If it goes wrong, everything will."

"You can't think like that," Harry replied, "It'll distract you, and puts doubts where we can't afford them."

Sirius sighed. "Still…we'd have to plan it carefully in order to do our best to keep you safe, Tallon."

Harry cut back a smoldering reply, not wanting to be kept 'safe' from something that had to be done. Instead, he merely nodded. "We can talk about it at the meeting today."

"Talk 'bout what?" Splikvin mumbled, waking slowly.

"You'll see," Remus answered. "Feeling any better?"

She frowned, looking at herself. "Yes and no." she replied, noticing that she was still fifteen in appearance. She got out of the bed, and looked at Harry. "How is your magic?"

He checked; it was back to normal. "Recharged," he answered, finding it awkward to be talking to a professor younger than him.

She nodded. "Good. I wouldn't use it for today, too soon."

"Alright," Harry replied, then hesitated and asked, "Why are you still fifteen?"

Splikvin grimaced, "I'd like to know that myself. Is Headmaster Ilvgont here?" she asked Remus. He nodded, and she left the infirmary.

"Feeling up to walk?" Sirius asked lightly, "Personally, I'd like to see her rant—it's pretty amusing, when it's not at you anyways." Harry grinned despite himself, and Moony attempted to smother a laugh, but he failed miserably. So Harry got out of bed and stretched his legs, feeling rather refreshed despite the slight ache in his shoulder blades; _probably from flying,_ he thought to himself.

They walked down the stairs, and to the meeting room. Some of the Order was already there, talking about the shield Voldemort had used on Durmstrang. Harry got a surprise: Alex was there too. She saw him and stalked over, a scowl on her face. "What?" Harry asked, confused.

"You went flying through a building that was on _fire_!" she exclaimed.

Harry grinned uneasily, "Er—yeah, I did, as a phoenix though." She seemed to relax.

"For the most part," Sirius added dryly, seeming amused by the situation.

Alex scowled at Harry again, "'Most part'?" she repeated.

Harry glared at his godfather, "Er—yeah."

Alex stared at the ceiling, "Why on earth do I like a maniac?" she asked no one in particular; Remus and Sirius laughed.

Harry blushed slightly. "No idea," he said with a grin, and kissed her, drawing whistles from his guardians.

Alex smiled, "Don't think you got away from this one," she warned.

Harry smiled back, "Not planning to; when'd you get here?" he asked, sitting down while Moony and Padfoot went to look for Splikvin again.

"About two hours ago," she replied, "Dale thought I could use a break from hiding and work."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Dale?"

Alex blinked, "Oh, sorry. Mr. Blurnof, his first name is Dale." She giggled slightly, noticing the look on Harry's face. "Yeah, he thinks it's an odd name too; he does a pretty good impression of the chipmunk though."

Harry laughed, remembering the muggle cartoon he'd seen when he was little. It had been at Mrs. Figg's house. She then asked him about what he'd done to make himself black out, and Harry explained his idea in a quiet voice. She pondered it for a few minutes. "I guess it would work," she said slowly, "if you take the right steps anyways."

Harry's reply was cut off by two Weasley twins fleeing and onslaught of hexes. "Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!" They were exclaiming, ducking behind the unfortunate furniture. Splikvin came into the room, glaring furiously at them, with Sirius and Remus laughing behind her.

Harry and Alex observed the mini-battle, amused, but also confused. "Clearly, I know every single hex I do as a professor," Splikvin growled, "And do _not_ repeat a word you said Weasleys, understand?"

The twins nodded vigorously, while still ducked behind a sofa. "What did they do _this_ time?" Mrs. Weasley asked with suspicion.

Splikvin flushed, "Nothing major." She muttered, pocketing her wand. "Just an issue with recognizing people." Harry raised an eyebrow, looking at his godfather, who was still shaking with laughter, though now silent. Splikvin walked over to Ilvgont and cut into the conversation, most likely asking how to get back to normal.

Only when she was fully occupied did the Weasley twins come out from behind the couch Harry and Alex were sitting on. "What did you _do_?" Harry whispered as they sat down.

"Not saying," they said instantly, glancing at Splikvin.

"We can though," Sirius said cheerfully.

Harry grinned, "What happened?" So Padfoot leaned over and quietly explained what had occurred. Harry's eyes widened as he fought not to laugh himself into hysterics.

* * *

The Order meeting occurred that evening. Splikvin had changed back to her normal self several hours ago, but she still glared at the Weasley twins whenever she saw them in the halls.

The first order of business was to explain what type of shield that had been used. There weren't many shields that could do what this one had done, so that limited it down to three, one being Parsletongue magic. "That is probably the one he used," Snape said, "Seeing as it is the one most unlikely for someone to be able to counter, and that he is the only one who would know how to do it."

Dumbledore nodded, "Very true, Severus. However, we are not sure if he is aware of Parsletongue magic just yet."

"I think he is, Sir." Harry said. "He probably started looking up different types of magic after he saw Parsloz magic being used."

"Mind, he does have _my_ journals," Salazar put in from his frame, "They are written in Parsletongue script, and I wrote about the magic in them. It is very likely he has come to fully understand what it means to be a Parslemouth."

"Is there anything _else_ he might be aware of due to your studies?" McGonagall asked, somewhat stiffly.

Salazar lifted his chin slightly. "Yes."

Harry bit back a grin as McGonagall pursed her lips in annoyance at the vague answer. "What are they Salazar?" Tallon asked politely, knowing that the Transfiguration professor wouldn't.

Slytherin answered immediately, in a slightly smug tone. "Transformation, summoning creatures part snake, potions that require the blood of a Parslemouth, charms that include serpents-" he faltered slightly.

"Anything else?" Harry asked, sensing Salazar's sudden reluctance and discomfort.

He sighed. "Only a bit on the wards of Hogwarts, secret entrances to the Chamber of Secrets, a few prophecies Rowena made, a way to counter-act the Fideleus Charm, the rites needed to bring someone from the Veil of Death," he cleared his throat, "and a few theories on becoming immortal."

"And he calls that _only_," Godric muttered, earning himself a glare. The Order was rather quiet, in a slight state of shock from what Voldemort could already know.

"No wonder he was able to sneak into Hogwarts to attack," Hermione murmured, a bit too loudly. Salazar merely kept his face blank, though Harry knew he wasn't happy about what he'd practically taught Voldemort.

Dumbledore sighed quietly. "Well, at the very least, we are aware of what Voldemort may know, and he does not know that, so that does give us a slight advantage in his underestimating us. Sir Salazar, if you would brief Harry or Selena on what is in your journals after the meeting, it would be greatly appreciated." The founder nodded. "Now, onto the next matter: our newly gained allies." A few of the Order perked up at this. Dumbledore smiled, "It would seem that Tom was erred in the matter of attacking an international party at Durmstrang. Due to the injuries and losses suffered by the Ministries of other countries, they have put a certain amount of efforts into our cause." He pulled out several official-looking rolls of parchment and opened them, spreading them out on the table for the rest of the Order to see. "From the Russian Ministry, our Ministry has been lent, on an emergency basis, the assistance of their Defense Wing Members, which includes roughly one hundred witches and wizards.

"From Bulgaria, several squads of Aurors; from France, seven Animagus Squads," Dumbledore had a slight smile on his face, "And from the United States Ministry, a V-Group."

"Cheapskate Yanks," Dung muttered.

Dumbledore beamed, "Not quite Mundungus, they have lent us more than that: a W-Group legion, access to their muggle technology such as satellite surveillance and infrared, and three teams of their M.D. Department." A surprised murmur swept through the room, some people more excited than others.

"What're all those groups?" Ron asked, though Harry was wondering the same thing.

Moody answered first. "The Defense Wing Members from the Russian Ministry are soldiers, much like Aurors, but they excel in muggle-style fighting as well as dueling."

"Not to mention they deal mostly with Dark creatures, like dementors and such." Tonks piped. "The Animagus Squads from France are just like the name: teams of Animagi; some have magical forms, some have normal. But they're trained like no other in those. Heck, you wouldn't even know they were an animagus if you met them in animal form!"

Lupin grinned as he explained another. "The 'W-Legion' in the United States is a rather large department of werewolves who work for the U.S. Ministry, working alongside Aurors during the full moon, and as normal aurors during other times of the month." The younger Order members' eyes widened.

"A V-Group is basically a team of half-vampires," Splikvin added, "They have alliances with the local clans in the U.S., bloody good fighters."

"Teams from the M.D. Department are the elite forces in the U.S. Ministry." Kingsley told them with a smile, "Every last one of them is a metamorphagus, animagus, and trained in battle of all types; they deal mainly with the dangerous creatures and magical gangs that tend to spring up quite often in the States. There are five members per team."

"Only five?" quizzed Neville.

Shacklebolt nodded. "Think of it as five very smart and very angry Hungarian Horntails in a group, working as a team." Neville's eyes widened, causing several chuckles to be heard.

"All in all, I'd say we didn't do half-bad gaining allies this time," Mr. Weasley said somberly; others nodded their agreement.

The talk then turned to Harry's idea for Voldemort. He summarized how he'd found out about it, and then his experiment after the shield broke over Durmstrang. Thoughtful silence followed his proposal.

"But the prophecy says…" someone muttered, then fell silent.

Harry would have glared at the person if he had been able to tell who'd said that. As it was, he kept his face blank. "I know what it says," he told them, "And this _will_ work, I know it." He grinned slightly, "Besides, if you twist the words of the prophecy around a bit in meaning, I'm not really changing a thing. Either way, the result will hopefully be the same." Sirius grinned at his godson, and Remus smiled while the rest of the Order thought for a bit.

"It's the best idea ya got!" Helga piped.

"He has thought of it for a while now," Rowena added, "We believe him to be ready to do this. However, it might possibly require a test of sorts before the main trial."

Dumbledore nodded. "We would have to ask one of the Ministers about it, seeing as how—_unique_, this idea is. Some may consider it on the borderline of dark."

"Dark doesn't make it evil," Harry said automatically, earning himself a slightly surprised look from some members. "It's the intent of the user that makes it evil or good." Salazar nodded in agreement.

Mr. Weasley looked at Tallon thoughtfully, "I'll ask Amelia about it; but I think we should first think about how on earth we would be able to give you the chance to do it."

"We would have to set a trap of sorts," McGonagall said, "That in itself could be the hardest part: making one suitable to trick you-know-" Dumbledore frowned slightly and she rolled her eyes, "V-Voldemort."

"Bait." Charlie suggested. "A big event or something that would draw his attention, something he himself would have to come to."

"Naw, he wouldn't risk something like that this soon." Tonks replied.

"A decoy perhaps?" Remus suggested. "Maybe two events at the same time, pretending to have more defenses set up at one than at the other."

The Order broke into a flurry of debates of what to use. Harry listened carefully, weighing the pros and cons of each idea in his head, while adding the ones others thought of. This stage went on for several hours; the Order took a break only when Moody and McGonagall got into a rather heated debate about the disadvantages of involving too many unknowing people. After roughly fifteen minutes, the Order 're-grouped' for another debating session. The founders even put in their own opinions, sometimes with dry remarks between Godric and Salazar. Harry often laughed at theses—he'd forgotten how amusing it was to watch the two argue about something.

After suggesting they put up wards on a certain area where they would set the trap, and giving a detailed explanation on how to do it, Harry received several curious looks. "What?" he asked.

"Where'd you learn all that?" Sirius asked.

Harry blinked, then remembered…_last summer, when I ran away—crap!_ "Er—last summer." He answered.

"From whom?" Dumbledore asked mildly, "The description you gave matches those of Hogwarts rather closely."

"_A little help?_" Harry pleaded, looking at Salazar.

The founder smirked, "_You got yourself into this one, you get yourself out."_

Harry glared at his tutor. "From Salazar." He answered finally.

"But some of those things can only be demonstrated," the Headmaster commented. Harry found he could only shrug in response.

Rowena sighed. "Does the name Grindelwald Black the First sound familiar?" she asked.

Several people's expression grew curious. "He's the wizard who was famous for studying the different types of portraits!" Hermione exclaimed, "Creating new ways to preserve a person's personality on canvas! He was also a Seer."

Rowena nodded with a smile. "Indeed. Now, some of you may recall at Harry's home a room with a chimera-shaped knocker on the door, one that most likely could not be opened by some of you." Several people nodded. "Our original portraits were in that room, which we call the Chimera Room. After Harry found us in there, he solved the riddle that was inscribed on the door, and a scroll signed 'G.B.' appeared. It explained how our portraits came to be there, and how long it had been. After becoming better acquainted with Harry, we began to tutor him in magic. I taught him Ancient Runes, Arthrimacy, Wizarding History, and occasionally tested him in Occlumency. Helga taught him Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures, and Charms. From Godric, Harry learned about Defense, Animagus transformations, and" she smiled slightly, "Quidditch. Salazar taught Harry Offensive Dueling, Parsloz magic, the History of Hogwarts, and Potions."

Hermione stared at Harry, her jaw practically hitting the tabletop. He blushed slightly, noticing that others were looking at him strangely as well.

Rowena continued. "Now, as we began to work with him, we found ourselves agreeing on something: that he was doing rather well." She smiled as Dumbledore looked with surprise at Slytherin, who was keeping his gaze carefully on the floor. "Yes, even Salazar admitted it, much to his embarrassment." The founder in question glared at her before she went on, undaunted. "When we voiced this, another little trick left from G.B. was revealed: we found ourselves free of our portraits." There were several gasps from the Order, and it took a few minutes for them to calm down; Hermione nearly fainted.

"We are able to do this two days a week, and then we go back into our portraits." Rowena explained. "And although we do not know just _how_ Grindelwald was capable of doing this, we decided to take advantage of it, therefore giving Harry more practical lessons."

"And helping out on occasion," Godric added.

"Remember the attack on the Ministry?" Harry asked, "The one where the four creatures came to help?" Some people nodded, "That was them, in animagus form."

Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling like a child's on Christmas Eve. "Interesting, very interesting. There were rumors that Grindelwald had discovered a way to make portraits more-- _lively_, but it was never confirmed before his death."

"Can ye do it now?" Dung asked.

The founders looked at each other in silent question. Godric was the first to shrug, and with a small flash of light, his portrait was empty, and he was standing in the room; Hermione right-out fainted.

Ron caught her, but he was staring as well. People's eyes got wider as Helga came out, then Rowena, and finally, Salazar.

"You made the extra potions," Snape said, looking at the founder of his house.

Slytherin smirked. "Indeed I did."

"This is just bloody creepy!" Ron exclaimed, causing Godric to laugh.

"Though this occurrence does merit a strange quality, I believe we are getting slightly off topic," Dumbledore said, though clearly amused.

"The wards and stuff," Harry said, refreshing Ron's memory.

"Oh yeah," he replied, and revived Hermione.

"Sorry!" she squeaked, blushing furiously under the gaze of the amused founders.

"Glad to know I've still got that effect on people!" Godric said smugly, causing her to blush even more.

Salazar rolled his eyes, "Must you drawn every conversation back to yourself?" he demanded.

"You're one to talk," Godric retorted.

He raised an eyebrow. "Since when do _I-_"

"Ya can stop now," Helga told them dryly, "Yer already makin' a scene that draws the conversation to _both_ of yerselves." They blinked, realizing that it was true; the Order was watching them amusedly.

"Back to the wards?" Rowena suggested, sitting down in another chair.

So talk turned back to the original plans, though it took a while to get past the immediate shock of the four founders standing in the middle of the twentieth century, looking like practically no time had passed since they first created Hogwarts.

After deciding that they could lure Voldemort and some of his forces out with bait that was fake, and perhaps send in a large force to destroy his main stronghold, they debated on where to stage the event. This took them well into the night, and eventually they took yet another break, not wanting to stop right then.

Another two hours passed once the meeting continued, and this time debating on just _what_ or _who_ to use in order to bring Voldemort out. It/they had to be something big, something/someone Voldemort himself would want to deal with.

"Someone high up on his hit-list?" Ron suggested tiredly, fighting to cover yawns; Harry wondered if he'd ever been awake past one am.

"It might work," Moody said after a few moments of slightly surprised silence. "But who's on it?"

"I believe Potter and I are above several others," Snape said bluntly, drumming his fingers on the table in thought.

"Yeah, you two are highest." Draco murmured, also thinking. "After you, I think it's the Ministers, the Zabinis—since they won't join him." He explained to the questioning glances. "And basically any vampire, werewolf, or dark creature that isn't allied with him." He paused, "After that, anyone close to Harry, muggles, and mud—er, witches or wizards with muggle parents." There was a tense, but thoughtful silence following this announcement, one that made Harry's stomach churn slightly.

"We know if you're out, he'll come." Mad-Eye said, looking at Harry while his magical eyes zoomed around. "But we can't risk putting you in front-out danger." Though Harry fumed inside, he knew that Dumbledore, Sirius, Remus, and basically most of the Order, would agreed with Moody.

"I do not think anyone should be sent into 'front-out' danger," Fleur said evenly, "We need all people we can get."

"Some people are trained to do it," Splikvin replied, also thinking. Harry noticed with a subtle amount of humor that they were both drumming their fingers; Snape's on the table, Splikvin's on her arm.

"For example?" Fleur inquired.

"Aurors, spies, anyone in war," Draco drawled; Harry chuckled quietly along with Salazar.

"What about an illusion?" Snape suggested after a few minutes.

"Come again?" Tonks said, scratching her head.

"An image of someone that would draw Voldemort out, but not be the real thing." Splikvin explained, catching on to her twin's line of thought.

"Might work," Moody said gruffly, "But how do you make an illusion real enough?"

"Maybe not an _illusion_, precisely." Snape said, "An imposter." He smirked. "Experiment twenty-four, perhaps?" he asked Splikvin. Harry blinked, having no idea what the potions master was talking about; he got the feeling that he wasn't alone in his confusion.

Splikvin grinned. "But instead of glamour, something more permanent?"

"Like?"

"Polyjuice?"

"You'd have to change it to make it last longer."

"Adding hyjar root might work."

"The acidity would corrupt the effects of the fluxweed."

"And why wouldn't the boomslang counteract it?"

"It would, but to the extent that its original effect in the potion would be lost."

"So then add shredded slit-gourd; it provides a steady changing rate, and should alter the time range sufficiently."

"But perhaps it would alter it too much. Taking out the leeches and substituting fergote scales-"

"Freeze there!" Godric exclaimed; the two Snapes and Salazar looked at him with mild irritation.

"Yes?" Slytherin demanded.

"I think I speak for us all when I say: 'what the heck are you _talking_ about?'" The other Order members and founders nodded.

"May we finish first?" Splikvin asked impatiently, "Then explain?" Rowena nodded and their talk began again. To Harry, it was like watching a tennis match. The ideas went back and forth between the Snapes, but occasionally Salazar would add something, and they'd go off onto a different track.

After fifteen minutes of listening to rather confusing names and effects and 'why not's, that even Hermione was clueless about, Harry began to get a headache, and the three Slytherins stopped for longer than a breath, looking rather satisfied.

"Now will you explain?" Godric asked, his voice a slightly pleading whine.

They rolled their eyes simultaneously, causing Dumbledore to beam at them while others chuckled. "Slytherins." Sirius muttered, holding back a grin.

"Where should we begin?" Snape asked in a bored tone.

"The 'Experiment twenty-four'." Moody said firmly.

"We were referring to one in a series of experiments we did during our third year in school," Splikvin began, "Testing out different potions and changing them around slightly to see the result. This one included a variant of a glamour potion, which slightly changed the drinker's appearance. It was mainly small things: eye, hair, or skin color, even an illness could be copied. It lasted until we came up with an antidote, unfortunately for Mr. Petresone, the Caretaker at the time."

"So it was _you!_" McGonagall exclaimed. Splikvin grinned openly and Snape smirked while Remus and Sirius applauded

Snape continued the explanation. "What we were debating is whether or not the Polyjuice potion could be altered in the same way, only to last longer in the way of lasting until only the antidote is administered."

"It should work," Salazar added, "The antidote should be similar to the one they came up with several years ago."

"That's all you were talking about?" Godric complained. "It sounded like you were having a telethon or something about mumbo-jumbo."

Salazar sneered. "It would to you, seeing as how you lack the intellect to understand the mere concept of substitution and affect."

"Whatever," Godric retorted, crossing his arms. "You can't understand squat about Quidditch or transfiguration; all you _do_ is mess around with cauldrons."

"I do not 'mess around' with-" Salazar began hotly, to be interrupted by Helga.

"It doesn't matter right now," she scolded, "Leave be." Slytherin sniffed in disdain but was silent.

"So, what's the purpose of the potion-experiment-idea?" Bill asked.

Snape blinked. "To change a person's appearance to that of someone the Dark Lord desires dead, fooling him into following them into a trap."

"Simple, really." Splikvin commented. "Put up wards on a designated area beforehand, get someone to pose as Harry, get some guards to make it seem more realistic, lure Voldemort into a battle situation he thinks he'll win easily, then call in the cavalry to destroy his base, extra forces, and to back us up."

"Would it work?" Dung asked, looking mainly at Dumbledore as the others murmured their thoughts. Harry was intrigued, though he didn't like the idea of someone posing as him.

The Headmaster thought about it for a long time. Eventually, he sighed. "If we take enough steps to ensure the safety of those on the front line, it could work. If we are sure Voldemort himself will come rather than merely his followers, it could work. If we are prepared and certain of what we need to do and that it will work, it could work."

"An awful lot of 'ifs' there." Mr. Weasley noted.

"Anyone got a better idea?" Sirius said, leaning back in his chair. No one answered. "Then that settles it; all in favor of Operation Mutated-Polyjuice?"

Though there were scowls from the Slytherins, some people couldn't help chuckling as they raised their hands; not one hand remained down.

* * *

**Coming Up:**

Put into Action

* * *

_(A/N: Ah, the tension of the 'Final Battle' begins! I have several questions for you, my most appreciated readers, about how the future chapter(s) will run:_

_1. In the fight, would you rather I describe it from more than one person's p.o.v., either in paragraph- or chapter –form, or just from Harry's?_

_2. Who do you think will pose as Harry? _

_3. Do you think the battle will go as planned? _

_4. Should I write an epilogue?_

_If you could answer these questions in a review, I would be much obliged. My thanks once more for reading as always. A.S.Leif)

* * *

_


	30. The Spark of Light Before the Night

**Chapter 29**

_(A/N: Wow, I wasn't expecting any reviews that quickly, seeing as how I posted it at one-twenty five am this morning; heh heh heh. Thank you for quick responses though, now I can get on with the story! A. S. Leif)_

After all the planning, Alex was finally able to join the Order. They went through the ritual, and then she stayed for a little while to talk to Harry. Eventually, she had to leave and that was when Harry went back home with Remus, Sirius, and the founders.

He spent roughly another hour with the four; it was good to be able to have a Parsloz duel with someone else other than Splikvin. To his surprise, he managed to beat Salazar after the third round.

"Don't get used to it," the founder grumbled as Harry handed him his wand with a grin.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Tallon replied, his grin widening.

"You've spent too much time with Gryffindor," Salazar told him; Harry laughed.

Harry woke up surprisingly early for staying up so late. He smelt something cooking and figured it was probably Helga, since Remus probably would sleep until past noon, Sirius too. So Harry went downstairs to the kitchen, where he did find Helga and Rowena talking. Not wanting to intrude, Harry silently exited and headed down to the dungeons and his workout room. With all the trouble, meetings, and fighting going on lately, he hadn't really been able to do his usual routine much; that's what he decided to do then.

It was slightly harder to complete than he remembered, but it gave him more resolve to work harder at it before 'Operation Mutate-Polyjuice' was put into action. When he'd finished and showered, he went back upstairs, where breakfast was being served. Though he wasn't bad at it himself, Harry like Helga's cooking a lot better than his.

"Harry," Salazar said, "Would you mind taking me to Headquarters? I need to speak with Severus and Selena about the potion."

Harry nodded and swallowed. "After breakfast? Or later?"

"After breakfast," he answered.

"Alright."

So, once they finished, Harry teleported himself and Salazar to the dungeons at Headquarters, and they began their search for the two Snapes. They ran into Algor, who was able to point them in the right direction. Salazar nodded his thanks stiffly, and Harry got the idea that the founder didn't like Snape Sr.

"Can I ask you a question?" Harry asked as they walked down the halls.

"Besides that one? Yes."

"You know that Tonks is a metamorphagus, right?" Salazar nodded. "Well, couldn't she just change herself to look like me, instead of needing to use a potion?"

"Not quite. You see, her transformations are restricted to those of her gender, she must remain in the guise of a woman. Not to mention that this potion _should_ help the drinker catch a bit of your personality."

Harry stared at him. "That's kind of, well—_creepy_."

Salazar chuckled. "I suppose it is, which is most likely why a potion of this type has not been invented yet. I believe the last potion similar to this was outlawed many years ago." The founder thought for a moment. "I suggest that you go to the Room of Requirement to try out your theory. It might be able to provide you with a subject to experiment with."

Harry nodded, "Good idea, thanks. I'll let you go and talk about stuff none of us Gryffindors have a chance of understanding now."

Salazar smirked and they parted ways. Harry to teleport to Hogwarts and Slytherin to the dungeons.

The Room of Requirement did in fact give him a suitable array of things to experiment with. It was rather tiring, but the room also seemed to give him a bit of extra energy. When he asked it to though, it left him at his usual energy level. Once he reached the point of nearly collapsing, Harry took a break, falling asleep on the bed that the room provided him with.

He woke up and checked his watch, to find that it had frozen. _Weird,_ he thought, and muttered "See." He was practically blinded by the massive amounts of spell-lights that exploded in his vision. He wrenched his eyes shut and yelped the command to end the feature, then cautiously opened his eyes, one at a time. He sighed in relief, the lights were gone. Harry rubbed his eyes; _note to self: **never** try that again._

He did a bit of dueling exercises with the dummies that the room provided him with; they were tougher than the ones he had at home, and even harder than the Order members who taught him and his friends on occasion. He brushed up on Parsloz, fighting in animagus form, and fighting with his dagger and the four spells of the founders. He even fought against himself, something the room had come up with on its own. That was hard, in his opinion, and it ended up in a draw. However, it gave him a good insight as to what his weaknesses and strengths were, though it _was _more than slightly unnerving.

After that, he left Hogwarts, and noticed that his watch was working again. He felt like he'd been in there for a good four or five hours, but his watch said he'd only been gone a few minutes. _Must've been the room_, he thought, and went home. After going for a swim in the lake, Harry went out past the wards and practiced apperating. He did it in quick succession, moving from place to place as fast as possible. It was tiring, and without the room to reenergize him, Harry found himself tired after only an hour of it, so he headed back to The Hideaway.

The time passed slowly for the next two days. The Order had tweaked their plans until they were as best as they could make them, and several members were working on putting up the wards. Dumbledore was able to hide the large use of magic, and, thanks to Draco, it was known that Voldemort hadn't detected them in the least. Members of the Feltelone clan were smuggled in and housed at Headquarters. It was an interesting experience. Harry found that, other than their pale skin, sharp teeth, and dislike of the sun, the vampires were hard to distinguish from normal humans. Along with the fifty-odd clansmen, the relief forces offered by the other countries arrived in secret. The castle was enlargened by Dumbledore in order to accommodate the other foreign wizards and witches who arrived. The Russian soldiers took up the entire second and third floors, the Bulgarian aurors and French Animagus squads took up the fourth, and the M.D. members stationed themselves in the spare rooms on the fifth. The V-Group housed themselves with the other vampires, and the W-Group legion was housed at Hogwarts, seeing as there were roughly a little over one hundred of them and there wasn't enough room left at Headquarters.

Quite a few of the house elves were brought from Hogwarts to help out at Headquarters, but each of them were magically bound not to say a word of its location; Harry doubted that any of them would betray Dumbledore though. Tallon himself was kept busy, answering any questions the new arrivals had about the place and location of things. Krum dealt with the Bulgarian recruits, and Fleur with the French. Remus stayed at Hogwarts to help out with the other werewolves, and Sirius and Tonks assisted the M.D. members. Splikvin was rarely available to help with the vampires, so that fell onto whoever was around.

The captain of each group was present at the Order meetings, where tactics and strategy were discussed. Harry himself was interested in meeting the Captains of the M.D. groups. The Russian representatives were a formal but joking group; however, their accents made it hard for Harry to understand what they were saying, the same went for the Bulgarians. He had several interesting conversations with the Lycan-general Dom, who happened to be an old friend of Remus', and the leader of the V-Group: Kate. He quickly found himself liking the Americans, they were a rather amusing lot. They took things in a laid-back manner, but knew their stuff and took the upcoming fight seriously.

Finally, on the third day of the new arrivals' stay, Snape and Splikvin finished the potion, with Salazar helping from his frame. They brought a sample of it to the Order meeting that afternoon. It was a mud color similar to that of a regular Polyjuice potion, but with a metallic tint to it. Harry, thinking back to his second year, was glad he wasn't going to be the one drinking it.

Once Snape explained what it did, and why they were using it, a new debate began: who would pose as Harry? Sirius wanted to do it, but Mad-Eye argued that, as Harry's godfather, he would be expected to be in the guard. Dung was another contestant, but McGonagall didn't trust him enough after the summer with the dementor-incident; more than several people were in agreement. However, the main thing was that the imposter had to be, was to be able to deal with Voldemort, should he appear sooner than expected; that knocked off about two-thirds of the Order.

Therefore, the main candidates were Sirius, Draco, Kingsley, Moody, Dumbledore, Remus, and Snape. Kingsley didn't know Harry particularly well, so he was erased from the list. Mad-Eye was a bit too jumpy, and his magical eye might throw the potion off slightly. Draco would most likely be summoned, therefore he couldn't do it. Voldemort would expect Dumbledore and Sirius to be guarding Harry, so that left Remus and Snape.

Remus wanted to do it, but he wasn't sure how well he would be able to cope with Voldemort. He knew he could take care of Death Eaters and the Dark creatures Voldemort had gathered, but he admitted that he couldn't stare the Dark Lord right in the face without paling. Snape, on the other hand, had no trouble meeting Voldemort's gaze, and could defend himself, but did _not_ want to pose as the Gryffindor Golden Boy. Snape also argued, with Draco's help, that Voldemort would be more likely to come if both Snape _and_ Harry were present.

"How much of that potion do you got?" asked Vale, one of the American M.D. members.

"A cauldron full," Splikvin answered, "Why?"

The American shrugged. "If you really want Voldemort to come, you could have Mr. Snape pose as Harry, and Mr. Lupin pose as Mr. Snape. Then both of them would be there, and you'd have your surprise, plus extra."

"The Dark Lord will most likely try Legilimency," Snape informed him stiffly.

"Probably," Vale agreed.

"But Remus is a werewolf," said Dom, "And his mind is resistant to Legilimency, just like mine. No problem there."

"I don't want Snape posing as my godson," Sirius grumbled, arms crossed stubbornly.

"I don't want to either Black." The potions master snapped in return.

Dumbledore sighed. "Severus, Sirius, please. I do not believe it will work any other way. Remus, are you willing?"

Remus shrugged, "I'll do what I have to."

"And you, Severus?"

Snape crossed his arms, "If you insist." Harry's stomach dropped, he couldn't believe _Snape_ would be posing as him.

The Headmaster smiled, "Thank you, both of you. Now, I believe the grounds are ready?"

Talk then turned back to the area Operation Mutated-Polyjuice would occur at, and to the plan that they hoped would work when executed in two days.

* * *

Harry sat nervously on the roof of The Hideaway, gazing up at the blazing stars. In just twelve hours, the plan would be put into action. The bait would be let out, the trap would be set, and chaos would clash with the uneasy peace that had settled over the past few days. 

Draco had already informed Voldemort at the previous Death Eater meeting that he'd heard Harry and Snape would be going from Order Headquarters to an area where they would be meeting an envoy from the United States, in hopes of gaining more allies.

It was partly true, Snape would be going as Harry with Remus as Snape to a designated point. The wards, disguised to look less powerful than they truly were, would be expected, seeing as how it was a 'secret' meeting and the 'Boy-Who-Lived' would need all the protection he could get. However, the U.S. envoy they would be 'meeting', was actually one of the M.D. teams, ready to defend the lure-party.

The guard would include Dumbledore, Sirius, Dung, Algor, and three members of the W-Group. There would be seven other teams, each captained by a member of the Order, with a second head officer should something happen to them. Each team would have a Muggle Tech. Interpreter, who would pass on any information gained via the U.S. muggle technology.

The first team was the Rangers. Mad-Eye was head officer, with Krum beneath him. It contained three Bulgarian Auror squads, one Animagus squad, 22 Russian soldiers, thirteen members of the W-Group, and one muggle tech. interpreter (MTI). Team Venom was led by Splikvin, with Alex as second head officer. There were 13 W-Group members, the V-Group, and forty-five members of the Feltelone Clan. Kingsley and Neville led team Frost. It contained forty-four Russian troops, a W-Group team (thirteen members total), ten Feltelone vampires, and an MTI.

The fourth team was the Slyders, led by Bill and Fleur as second head. Again, they had one MTI, twenty-two Russians, a W-Group team, and four of the Animagus squads, which had nine animagi per team. Team Bolt was led by Tonks and Ron. There would be one MTI, a W-Group team, the standard Russian team, and one of the M.D. teams. Team Stickers was the sixth team. McGonagall was head officer, with Hermione below her. Theirs was the largest group, with one W-Group, twenty-two Russians, three Bulgarian Auror squads, two Animagus squads, and the usual MTI. The last team was team Rush, with Charlie and Hagrid in charge. Hagrid and Olympe had recruited fifteen giants, including Grawp. There were also the standard groups of W-G members, Russians, and the MTI.

The operation was rather complicated, in Harry's opinion. The Envoy group would draw out Voldemort and some of his followers, depending on how many he brought, certain Order Teams would go to different battle spots. If he brought a large amount of followers, the larger teams would stay and fight and the smaller ones would go to the base and destroy it; if it was still in use, of course. However, there were also several Auror teams that would be waiting to be called upon at the Ministry with Fred and George, who had an extra-large amount of pranks to pull on the Death Eaters in order to distract them.

At Hogwarts, a group of sprites, courteously gathered by Smuck, would make sure that the sun was covered with clouds over the battle field, thereby allowing the vampires safety from the harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun. The Muggle Technology Squad was also stationed at Hogwarts. They would be watching the fight via satellite, and pass information about the position of Voldemort's armies through the MTIs with each Order team. The Head and Second head Officers would also pass information via their pendants if they had the time.

Harry and his team would seek out Voldemort, who would most likely be in the background, commanding his army. With Harry would be the founders, an M.D. team, two vampires, and one Animagus squad. His team was large enough to ensure his safety, but also small enough that it wouldn't attract too much attention. Harry had been introduced to each person who would be with him, but he had to be careful not to get too close; they didn't want themselves or him to be distracted from the fight at hand and the overall goal.

_They make it safe_, thought Harry, _but I'm still the one who has to do it. They make it ready, take all the precautions, but they expect me to finish it all. What if I can't?_ _What if it all goes wrong? What if Voldemort wins? And all these people who came to help are killed?_ Such thoughts had plagued him from the day the plan took shape. They were relentless, leaving him restless at night, unable to sleep, and with a churning feeling of foreboding in his gut. He'd tried to talk to Ron and Hermione, but neither of them understood, they just always told him it would be alright, that they'd be there for him; not that he didn't think they would, it just wasn't what he was looking for.

Harry pulled his legs up to his chest as he continued to gaze at the stars, attempting to gather his thoughts and save himself a headache. The final fight would come, and whether it sided with good or evil depended on is fight with Voldemort. He knew what he needed to do, and he knew how to do it, he just wasn't sure _when_. There were many risks in his plan, but it was the only one he had. He could get tired too quickly, he could get distracted, he could be hit by an unseen Death Eater, he could be killed; he could fail, causing hundreds of people to die.

He'd had another vision of Voldemort's, which was why he was up on the roof at this time of night. He'd seen the large number of Dark creatures awaiting orders, the mass of Death Eaters lined up, waiting to be initiated. Would he really kill them for the 'greater good'?"

Harry had killed before, though it made him disgusted to think about it. He'd killed Quirell when he was only eleven years old, merely to keep him from getting the Stone. He'd killed the basilisk, merely because Tom Riddle was commanding it. He'd killed dementors, merely for being what they were. He'd killed Cedric, merely because he had to be a Gryffindor and say they share the Cup. He'd killed Sirius, merely because he'd been frustrated with Dumbledore and angry at Snape.

Would he kill Voldemort merely because he was who he was?

Harry looked at the North Star, and it seemed to twinkle brighter in response. Harry nodded back, and stood up; he had his answer.

* * *

**Ten AM—Headquarters**

Harry fingered his family ring while waiting for the others to arrive. He was currently dressed in black battle robes, which had a tighter fit, a cooling charm, were more flexible, and resistant to several curses. Under the robe, he had on a dragon hide vest, boots, and—a newer addition—pants, all of it was black. He had both of his wands holstered, as well as his dagger, and a belt with vials of different potions. Some of them exploded when dropped, others created clouds of gas or mist, but some were pepper-ups, minor and major healing potions, and some were just plain water. The belt was charmed so that the vials would be protected from breaking unless Harry willed it, and to look like an ordinary belt with silver studs in replace of the vials.

The Head officers and their second in commands were there, along with the commanders of the different foreign groups, but most people were silent, waiting for the envoy group to arrive. The founders were seated near Harry, in their regular robes, since they weren't really able to change; many people had found this odd, but Harry had grown used to it.

Finally, Dumbledore, Sirius, Dung, Algor, Snape, and Remus arrived, with Splikvin holding two, potion-filled glasses behind them. Harry smiled weakly at his guardians, who smiled back. He then offered Snape a strand of his hair, who then put it into one of the glasses that Splikvin held; the potion turned a red-gold color. "Figures," Snape muttered, and took the glass.

Remus chuckled as he put in a second hair into the other glass: it turned blackish-green, "Cheers." He said, and took his glass from Splikvin, then drank until it was empty. Moony smiled "No worse than Wolfsbane." He said, and exited the room as he began to change. The potions master sighed quietly before drinking his share and also leaving.

After a few tense minutes, the two came back out as Snape and Harry. Tallon looked at himself and grinned slightly.

"Don't say a word," Snape-Harry growled.

"Don't worry Sir," Harry replied, keeping a straight face. Tallon had leant the potions master his normal dragon hide vest boots and clothing, but Snape-Harry clearly was not pleased about the arrangement.

Remus, on the other hand, seemed rather amused by it all. He was wearing Snape's battle-wear, and was smiling amiably; a rather odd thing for Snape. "Don't smile so much," Sirius told him, "Scowl."

Snape-Harry glared at Padfoot, but he only laughed in reply.

Remus-Snape chuckled, "Don't worry Severus, I won't ruin your reputation; promise." Harry fought the urge not to laugh; Snape's voice using such relaxed vocabulary and in such a pleasant manner was rather odd. Though, several other members of the Order seemed slightly amused by this trade-off as well.

"Are we ready yet?" Snape-Harry asked.

Harry blinked, "That wasn't bad." He said to his imposter.

Snape-Harry smirked, "Duh." This statement brought quite a few chuckles from the others, and a grin from Harry; he'd never thought Snape would be able to pull it off.

Dumbledore was also smiling. The Headmaster looked like he normally would, but Harry new he had battle-gear on underneath his usual, decorative robe. "Yes Harry, we are ready. Shall we go?" Harry blinked, confused, then he realized Dumbledore wasn't talking to him.

As the Envoy team began to leave, Harry pulled Remus-Snape and Sirius aside, "Be careful," Harry ordered them.

Remus-Snape smiled, "Don't worry Tallon, you do the same though."

Sirius nodded. "Keep an eye out for Wormtail, he managed to escape from the Ministry holding cells since he was never transferred to When this is all over, we'll celebrate for the whole day, playing Quidditch, pulling pranks, and all that stuff; how's that sound?"

Harry smiled, "Sounds great." He gave Sirius a hug first, then Remus-Snape.

"I am never going to live that one down." Snape-Harry grumbled. Harry laughed, realizing how odd that must look: Snape hugging Harry; other people began to laugh too.

For a brief moment, Harry was able to forget about what he was going to do, about how dangerous it was all going to be. "See you soon then," Harry told his guardians quietly, and stepped away so that they could leave.

A few minutes later, Harry's friends began to leave as well, to get into position for the battle. "What's the point in good-bye when we'll see each other again soon?" he asked, fighting back the moisture that threatened to spill over his eyes. They smiled weakly back, and he gave them all a hug, praying that this wouldn't be his last memory of them.

"See ya, mate." Ron said, eyes slightly brighter than usual. "Good luck." Harry nodded.

"Same."

Hermione bit her lip, "Remember when we were first friends?" she asked quietly, "Because of the troll?" They chuckled, remembering how annoying they'd thought Hermione to be before that incident.

"Yeah," Harry replied.

"Seems a long time ago," Ron said.

She nodded. "Well, it might have been a while ago, but we still are, and I know we'll always be, right?" They nodded, and she hugged them each again, then Harry stepped away to give them a few moments alone, and to find Alex.

"Be careful," she whispered, hugging him before kissing him on the cheek.

He kissed her back. "Only if you do the same," he replied; he shuddered slightly, wondering if this would be the last time he saw her.

"What is it?" she asked immediately, searching his face.

"I—I don't know what's going to happen," he whispered, "If you get hurt I—I could never live with myself. If any of you get hurt, or—or killed…"

She hugged him again, burying her face in his shoulder. "We'll make it Harry," she whispered, "I know it. No matter what, we'll see each other again. Whether it's here, or _there_, we'll see each other."

"Alex," Splikvin called from the other room. Harry kissed her one last time and let her go, praying that it would all end up alright.

He watched all of them go through one of the windows, and he silently asked anyone who was there to keep them safe. He stood at the window for a long time, remembering each person's face, the things he'd laughed about with them, the things he'd argued about with them, and the things he did or didn't like about them. He thought about all his friends, all the members of the Order, all the participants of the DA, the professors, heck, he even thought about Peeves, Filch, and Mrs. Norris.

"Harry?" Salazar called. "Time to go." Harry took a breath and turned around.

It was time for the fight to begin.

* * *

**Coming Up:**

The Second War

* * *

**Review Response:**

_Thank you to all reviewers for your suggestions. Seeing as how most people asked for multiple pov, it shall be so. And congratulations to _PrettyPrincessRen_for guessing that Sirius would argue about it, and to _Shoia, _for guessing Snape! _


	31. The War Begins

**Chapter 30**

_(A/N: The battle will most likely be posted in more than one part, but I'll try to post them as close together as I can; roughly 26 different POVs will be depicted, my apologies to those of you whowould rather I only do one.A.S.Leif)_

Remus Lupin walked firmly beside the supposed Harry Potter, his robes billowing behind him, a slight scowl on his face. After all, Severus Snape would not be pleased that he had to escort the 'Boy-Who-Lived' to a meeting during his summer vacation.

_Merlin, I hope this turns out alright,_ he thought. He couldn't help but wonder how this was all going to end. He prayed Harry would live, even if he didn't.

"We're approaching the travel-stop." Albus said, and motioned to a fairly large rock that resembled a potato: the portkey to the rendezvous point. The Envoy team formed a circle around it, careful to keep 'Harry' protected. Remus' scowl deepened as he stood closer to Harry, who returned the scowl. _I think we're doing rather well, _Remus thought with an inner grin, _Merlin knows I never thought I'd find myself playing Snape._

He put a hand on the rock as Albus counted down; when the Headmaster reached zero, the familiar jerk behind his navel followed, and the landscape blurred past until it settled into an entirely new one. Rather than an oak forest, they were standing in a large, grassy plain with a few boulders here and there. Despite the boring look, Remus had every inch of the place memorized. For instance, he knew that exactly seventeen meters from his left, there was a ditch in the road, and thirteen more meters was a stream. On his right, nine meters away, was a boulder that had a hidden cache of potions inside it, which could be accessed when pushed on the right place.

The group walked over to the large tent that housed the U.S. Envoy. As they got closer, Remus felt the back of his neck prickle, and he noticed 'Harry' tense beside him. Remus cast a suspicious glance around, pretending not to notice the dark dots that appeared on the horizon, darting behind the boulders, or the hawk that soared directly above them for a few minutes, then wheeled away to the south.

At last they arrived, and they began to prepare. A charm was placed so that it would sound like they were having a conversation, when in fact they were changing into battle-gear. Potions were handed out along with daggers, and the M.D. team began to warm up, anticipating the battle to come.

"So far so good." Remus murmured.

"Nothing in war turns out the way it is planned," Harry said, a bit too coldly.

Remus smirked, "You're slipping _Potter_."

'Harry' glared at him, "I swear Lupin, I will hex you the moment this is over, whether I am dead or not."

Sirius came over, grinning. "Aw, don't worry Harry, we'll make it." In response, 'Harry' glared, and got himself ready.

Remus found his thoughts wandering to his friends, Selena specifically. He wondered if she would be alright. Yes, she was a Slytherin, quick witted, and a good fighter, but sometimes she tended to make rash actions to help someone else, doing anything within her power to help, even if it cost her something dear. _Be careful,_ he thought, praying that somehow she would hear him. He'd said good-bye and good-luck to her early that morning, but it didn't lessen his worry at all. He wanted to see her after this, wanted to tell her something, but he wondered when—if at all—he would get the chance. He smiled. Sirius knew something was between them, but Severus didn't, for all his talent in spying; Remus had the feeling that the potions master would completely flip out if he knew.

After a few minutes of anxious preparation, the alarms went off from the muggle technology station there. "We've got company," the MTI said, checking the screen, "Quite a bit. About fifty humans, and" he frowned, looking at the screen closer, "Looks like we've got some cold spots approaching."

"Dementors," Sirius growled, and got out his wand, so did everyone else.

Sure enough, Remus felt the temperature drop slightly, and he looked at his best friend. "Good luck Padfoot," he said quietly.

The former convict nodded, his face tighter than usual, the usual mirth replaced by a grave expression. "Same to you Moony." The two clasped hands, and stepped outside with the others, ready to face that which came.

A large line of dementors met them, and the friends looked at each other once more. "For Harry?" Remus asked quietly.

Sirius nodded. "For Prongs and Lily." He smirked, "And Sel too." Remus smiled slightly in return, a sense of foreboding rising in his gut.

Simultaneously, the two friends raised their wands and shouted: "_EXPECTO PATRONUM!_"

The war had officially begun.

* * *

She stood beside the MTI, waiting fretfully for any change as she watched, though she didn't truly see anything, she was too busy thinking. Her mind was flooded with a hundred different questions and worries. Would Ron be alright? Would Harry? How many would Voldemort bring? What if they were terribly outnumbered?

_Stop it,_ she scolded herself, _you're acting like a first year right before exams._

"Ms. Granger?"

She looked up, "Yes Professor?"

"Any change?"

Hermione quickly checked the screen, "No Professor."

McGonagall nodded, and resumed her pacing. For several minutes, Hermione was able to keep herself calm by repeating her History of Magic notes from the previous year. She started with the Code of Conduct for 1894, then worked her way up to the Warlock Conventions of that year.

Then, the _bleep_ of the muggle technology drew her attention. "What is it?" she asked the MTI earnestly.

The young man looked at the screen, "Looks like trolls, coming in at three o'clock. 'Bout twenty o' 'em." He peered closer. "An'… Death Eaters, 'bout fifty of 'em at eleven o'clock." He tilted his head to the side, "Transmission from the tent: dementors've arrived, along with more Death Eaters—no sign of L.V. yet."

Hermione relayed this information to McGonagall, whose mouth became a thing line. "It begins then," she murmured, and straightened, getting out her wand. The elderly witch turned to the animagus whose form was an eagle. "Spot check, if you please." The young woman nodded and was up in the air within seconds. Hermione would have sighed with envy at her ability had the situation not been so grave.

Only seconds later, the scout returned. "The readings are correct," she said with a slight French accent.

McGonagall nodded, and turned to the other captains. "This is most likely the first wave; proceed with plan L, but with caution, we don't want to suffer any damage this early." They nodded, bowing slightly as they went to gather their teams.

Hermione got out her wand, watching the horizon until the trolls came into view. She waited until she could see their clubs, then began to cast the Levitation spell, in honor of Ron. She levitated the first troll's club out of its hand and brought it crashing down on the thing's head. After seven hits, the troll fell, making the ground shake. Seeing one of their own down, the trolls began to charge, yelling their fury as the Death Eaters began to appear.

The Russian Aurors began to launch high-power curses at the dark warlocks, bringing down those who couldn't get a shield up in time. Unlike the British Ministry Aurors, they had no second thoughts about killing dark wizards and witches, but Hermione did not think any less of them for it as she moved on to the next troll.

* * *

Alastor's magical eye whizzed about, scanning everything. Something was about to happen, he could feel it. After all, he wasn't considered a paranoid old coot for nothing. He chuckled inwardly to himself; he wasn't truly paranoid, it was just for show. Yes, he could get rather jumpy, but anyone would be after being subjected to a powerful memory charm and locked in their own trunk for a year.

"We've got an update," the MTI reported, "Dementors and Death Eaters have started at the Tent, and Stickers are engaged as well with Trolls and D.E.s."

Moody nodded. "Anything near us?"

"Negative."

He stumped away, cursing his peg-leg as it sank slightly into the muddy grass. His forces were stationed near a slightly marshy area, though it was well defended with rugged terrain that was hard to get into, but not verydifficult to getout of.

Krum was waiting for instruction with the other Bulgarians. He wasn't a bad dueler, the lad just had trouble communicating, and was slightly nervous with Alastor, not that he minded. Nervousness made people more observant, in Mad-Eye's opinion.

A few sharp yells could be heard in the distance, and Alastor sent out a scouting party to see if anything was on its way. They came back just as the MTI reported an approaching group of creatures.

"Chimeras," the falcon-scout clarified, "They look like they're heading east of us. If we stay put, they'll pass us by; if we attack, we can catch them by surprise using the left border."

Alastor thought about it. "We stay put," he said finally, "team Venom will be able to deal with them quick and painless; vampires are able to easily deal with them."

Then, another bleep came from the MT screen. "Death Eaters," the MTI said, "Dead north—no pun intended." A few of the Lycan Americans chuckled.

Moody nodded, "We'll deal with those. Arm-up." He ordered the officers.

"Alright, Team B! Transformation potions on the double!" ordered Dom. Six of the thirteen W-Group members pulled out potion vials from their belts and drained the contents. Soon, the sound of yips and snarls rose into the air, and six, fully-transformed werewolves were standing alongside the other human-shaped werewolves.

Alastor shook his head, the Americans had come up with some crazy ideas, but this one was one of the rather brilliant ones. They'dinventeda potion that allowed a werewolf to transformbefore of afterthe full moonhad wanedand still keep their human minds.The potions were only used for battle though, since no Lycan truly enjoyed transforming.

Moody watched as the black-cloaked figures got closer, and he raised his hand; the troops fell silent. "First wave up!" he ordered, and several aurors rushed forwards, firing offfreezers and irreversible stunners. The transformed werewolves followed after, rushing onto the field as they howled, then began to leap at the Death Eaters, tearing and biting with all the ferocity of their beast natures.

* * *

He steepled his fingers as Wormtail reported: Potter had arrived to speak with the U.S. envoy, to gain their alliance; he could not allow that. "Very well," he said quietly, "Gather half a company of Death Eaters, and twenty five of the dementors. Take them to the site, but bring Potter and the traitor to me," his red eyes narrowed to slits, _"Alive_. Understood?"

The pathetic rat nodded vigorously and bowed deeply before leaving hurriedly. Voldemort rubbed his temples in annoyance, Pettigrew was such a bother, he had worth in only a few areas, but those areas were rather useful. Personally, Voldemort would rather kill the coward and be done with it.

Roughly a half an hour later, Wormtail arrived once more. "M-Milord?" he squeaked.

Voldemort opened his eyes and stared boredly at the piece of filth before him. "What?"

Pettigrew shuffled his feet, Voldemort could _smell_ the fear on him; that could only mean bad news. "It failed," the balding man squeaked, "They were prepared a-and the Death Eaters are either dead or captured, M-Milord. Half of the dementors fled, a fourth of them came back, and a fourth were k-_killed_ Milord. The A-Americans were very well trained, and were animagi—dragons and basilisks Milord."

Voldemort narrowed his eyes once more in a venomous manner. So Dumbledore wanted to play that way, did he? "Send out a scouting party," he snapped, "I want to know the exact locations of the other _groups_ Dumbledore has waiting."

"O-other groups, M-Milord?" Wormtail squeaked. Voldemort raised a non-existent eyebrow and the pitiful slimy excuse of a wizard recoiled, "M-my apologies, Milord; it will be done i-immediately."

"Oh, and Wormtail," Voldemort called as he began to leave, "Once you have the positions, send out a company to each; I want them all dead by the time the sun sets." He smiled cruelly, looking down at Nagini, "Perhaps I will even give Potter a little visit once I find him."

* * *

Helga trotted beside Harry, who was in werewolf form. They were making their way past a group of Chimeras that were headed south, most likely towards team—what was the name?—team Rangers. The fact that dark creatures were on the move meant that Voldemort was aware of the situation, that a fight had begun, and therefore their job was to find him.

'_Anything yet?'_ she mentally asked Salazar, who was running as a black fox on her left.

'_Nothing,_' he replied after checking for any Parslemouths nearby. _Such an odd form o' magic,_ Helga thought to herself. '_I will alert you should I sense anything,'_ Salazar finished, she nodded.

* * *

Albus reflected a pain curse back at the castor, causing them to yelp. The Death Eaters were reducing rapidly in number, despite the small number fighting against them. He had to admit, the M.D. team was truly a blessing. Their dragon and basilisk shapes made quick work of the offending wizards and witches, and they were also immune to the effects of the dementors.

Albus quickly wrapped up four Death Eaters with a flaming rope, their heads fell to their chests instantly in a deep sleep similar to that of the Draught of Living Death. They fell to the ground, and Albus moved on to his next fight, dodging any stray curses.

After half an hour, the last of the dementors fled, and several of the Death Eaters lost their nerve and ran after. A cheer rose up from Sirius and some of the Americans, causing Albus to smile faintly. He checked the wards on the area, and was able to see that Harry, the real Harry, was a little ways away from Selena's camp, and also that more enemies had appeared about a mile away from the envoy Tent.

"Rest while you may," he told the others, "More are coming."

Sirius grinned, "Bring 'em on."

'Harry' snorted, "You do not take this serious enough Black." He sneered, revealing the fact that it was indeed Severus.

Sirius' grin only widened. "C'mon _Harry_, I'm 'Sirius' all the time."

Severus-Harry sneered in reply and re-cast a cooling charm on himself, then looked at Albus. "When may I change back?"

Albus smiled, "Whenever my boy; however, I do think it would be rather confusing for there to be two of you on the battle field."

Remus-Severus gained a mocking look of disappointment, "And I was just getting used to it too." He grumbled.

Sirius laughed. "Yeah, now he doesn't twitch when his robes billow."

Severus-Harry glared at them, and removed the antidote for the potion from his belt, then downed its contents and headed back to the tent. A few minutes later, he re-emerged, looking like the Severus Albus knew, complete with the usual scowl, which was absent on the other Severus' face.

"If you don't mind, Lupin?" he said, slightly glaring at the copy of himself.

Remus-Severus shrugged, "Alright, alright; I'm going." Then he too, swallowed the antidote and went into the tent to change back.

Albus smiled, "I must say Severus, you did rather well portraying Harry."

"With all due respect, Headmaster," Severus replied stiffly, "_Never_ ask me to do it again."

Albus smiled, "Of course, my boy." He then turned to check the wards once more, and found that the dark forces were coming closer. Glancing at the horizon, he noticed small black dots appearing. _I do hope you're alright Harry, _he thought as they got closer, _I am sorry for having to put you through this, I truly am. I hope we both live long enough for me to tell you in person; I have faith in you Harry_.

Getting out his wand as the shapes began to take on a more distinct shape, Albus heard someone come up beside him—it was Severus.

"Headmaster," he began hesitantly.

"Yes, my boy?" he replied.

Severus kept his gaze forward. "I—wanted to…thank you, for all that you've done; for allowing me the chance to—atone, for what I've done in the past. For giving me a second chance."

Albus smiled, he doubted that there was anyone who deserved a second chance more than Severus; a lifetime of working with the wizard had taught him that. He knew that Severus' life had been a hard one, and that was why he had taken him under his wing, to help him live his life in a better way and to heal old wounds that were slow to closing. "You deserve it my boy," he said, "I know you regret the things you had done, and you have done more than make up for them. Rest easy, my boy, soon, you will no longer have to think of those things again."

Severus nodded, "Thank you." He looked at Albus, "May I ask you something?"

"Certainly."

"Would you please not call me 'my boy'?"

Albus' smile widened and he laughed, his voice carrying over even to the Death Eaters that prepared to attack, unnerving them with its full-hearted cheerfulness.

* * *

Tylore jumped above a curse, and lunged for the castor, spearing him on his sword. The blood traced crimson trails down the side of the silver blade, and he jerked his blade free as the wizard dropped to the ground, the life fleeing from his body. "Vertigone ferorzai," Tylore murmured, placing his middle finger to his thumb and touching his brow; the traditional way to honor an enemy's death.

He quickly moved on to his next victim, slashing out at tendons and places that caused large amounts of blood to be lost in a short amount of time. With each kill, he honored the fallen, though by doing this, he received several small wounds. They did not harm him, as they healed themselves quickly, not even leaving the slightest mark.

Tylore checked over his shoulder after dispatching another chimera, and saw Selena in trouble; well, not by her standards. For some reason, the witch thought she was capable of fending off seven chimeras at once; oddly enough, sometimes she could. He shook his head, and threw a knife at one of the crystals on a chimera's back; the creature froze, and Selena finished it off.

He had to admit, she had taken rather well to her vampire shape, and could act quite like one when needed; most humans would faint when asked to converse with a vampire. Tylore nimbly dodged a killing curse, allowing it to hit the Death Eater behind him instead, and then he sliced the other's head off in a quick swipe, once again honoring them in their death.

* * *

Hagrid caught a Death Eater in the chest with his fist, sending the much smaller wizard flying into a boulder. Swinging his fists wildly but with some technique, Hagrid plowed his way through the seemingly endless stream of Death Eaters. It was rare that Hagrid got angry, but now, he was furious and that is what fueled Hagrid's energy now.

He remembered the deaths of James and Lily, and how poor Harry was forced to grow up thinking they'd died in a car crash, not knowing about magic, not knowing what it felt like to have people care for him, and the pain Harry had endured for the weeks he'd been captured. In his opinion, Harry was like a little brother, and _no one_ messed with Rebeus Hagrid's little brother, whether it was Grawp or Harry. Not a Death Eater, not a dementor, not Voldemort, _no one _messed with _his_ little brother and it was hightime they realized that.

* * *

Ron Weasley threw a shield out to block a bone-breaking hex, he then returned with a burning hex. It caught the offending Death Eater in the chest, but they didn't stop, instead fired Cruciatus after Cruciatus. Ron did his best to dodge them, but one got his ankle and he fell to the floor with a scream.

He couldn't begin to describe the agony that swamped through him, it was so painful. He couldn't begin to imagine how Harry had gone through this for the weeks he was in this very stronghold.

Suddenly, the curse ended, and Ron found an Auror standing over him: Tonks. "Alright there?" she asked, holding a hand out to him.

Ron weakly grasped it and she heaved him up. He fumbled in his belt and pulled out the Cruciatus-Immunization potion. He gasped at the coldness. "Don't know why I didn't drink it earlier," he mumbled.

She grinned, "Careful, I can't loose my second in command." The Metamorphagus scanned the area, and ducked a jinx sent her way, then returned fire. "Go check up on the MTI," she ordered.

Ron nodded and jogged off, ducking behind pillars and fallen stones to keep out of site. He had to fight off a Minotaur, which took him precious minutes, and then a Death Eater, whom seemed surprised that the Cruciatus didn't work. Ron sent his patronous charging at the evil wizard, and dispatched him with a black-out hex.

He raced to the cover where the MTI was hidden and asked for an update. "Nearly empty," the witch replied, "NO sign of Voldie or dementors, just Death Eaters. The Auror squads are arriving though."

"Thanks," Ron said, and jogged outside, where he met the three teams from the British Ministry.

"You needed help?" one asked gruffly, wand already out.

Ron nodded, "One last shove and we'll have 'em backed up into the last hall. There aren't any escape routes from there, and we can finish 'em off easy."

"Then what're we waiting for?" another barked, "Let's go!"

So Ron led them back through the maze of pillars and passages to where the main fight was, having to duel several Death Eaters and Chimeras on the way. However, with the Aurors on his side, it was no trouble at all.

Ron found himself thinking about Hermione more and more as they began to win. He wondered if she was alright, he knew that she would be in more danger than him, and that made him worry. He wanted to be there too, making sure she didn't get hurt. But he was needed here, just like she was needed there. He wondered if they would ever get past the dating stage; then again, he had no idea what to do after that. _I'll worry about that once this is over,_ he thought, _if we make it through._

Someone screamed on his left, and Ron jerked out of his thoughts: an Auror had been hit by the Killing Curse. All of a sudden, the air was filled with green light, and more and more people fell to the ground—dead; only two of them were Death Eaters. Ron's stomach churned as he tripped over a body in his haste to escape one of the Killing Curses himself: it was a witch just a little older than him.

Ron wrenched his eyes away and began to fight with a new ferocity. The Aurors began to fight back with the Unforgivables, and more Death Eaters fell. Ron ducked an unknown hex, only to be blown backwards into a pillar by another. His wand rolled away from his hand as his vision blurred. He'd heard something crack, most likely a rib. The Death Eater approached, his mask gone, revealing a sneer. "Nighty night," he taunted, and raised his wand, pointing it at Ron's chest. "_Avada-_"

_So this is it? _Ron thought, straining to move, _I'm sorry Herms; I'm sorry Harry, mate. Good luck_.

As the Death Eater finished the last syllable of the curse, time slowed for Ron and he watched as it came closer to him. He closed his eyes, bracing himself for the impact: it didn't come.

He heard someone yell his name, and then a scream as something thudded into him. Ron opened his eyes and found a limp body draped over him and the Death Eater was gone, vanished all except for his robes and wand.

Ron rolled the body over and his face paled: it was Percy.

* * *

She flapped her wings, firing off bursts of flames at any of the minotaurs that came within range. '_Are there any clear spots as of yet?'_ she asked.

Godric slashed with his talons at a Death Eater, disemboweling the wizard. '_Not yet, there might be one a bit to your left in a second though, will all your pyro behavior.'_

Rowena would have smiled, had she been human; trust Godric to joke during a time like this. However, it did tend to make things more bearable rather than gruesome and guilt-laden. She did not like taking lives, but now it was a must.

She ducked behind the shield Helga put up, sending off one more spurt as she did. '_How are you faring, Harry?'_ she asked the young wizard, who was also in phoenix form.

'_As good as can be,_' he replied grimly, _'My scar is prickling though; he's nearby, or feeling something strong._'

_'I shall notify Salazar and ask him if he has sensed anything,'_ Rowena promised, and returned to roasting evil warlocks.

* * *

Minerva narrowly escape an Unforgivable as she transfigured a boulder to make it seemingly alive. She jumped behind her creation, and it shattered as the Killing Curse came in contact with it. _That won't do,_ she thought, and quickly hit the offending Death Eater with a black-out curse. Instantly, the dark witch dropped to the ground, much like Minerva's shattered boulder.

Transfiguring another boulder and rolling it after a pair of trolls, who were too slow to avoid being crushed, Minerva wiped the beads of sweat off her brow; she hated getting old. Her joints protested against the agile movement she required at the moment, and that increased the risk of making a mistake. In a duel, speed was a crucial factor.

She blocked a pain curse, returning fire with an ice-storm hex. Spots of blood appeared on the mask-less Death Eater's face where the miniature icicles pierced their skin, and Minerva finished the wizard off with a bludgeoning jinx. She didn't normally approve of such violent measures, but the thought that they would not restrain themselves and that each Death Eater she brought down lessened the threat for Potter, balanced her distaste.

* * *

Sirius' Challenger tore at the super-dementor while he fended off another with his regular patronous. It still unnerved him to see such a devastated creature, but by focusing on the one made of light, his nerves were eased; well, as much as they could be when in the middle of a fight.

Adrenaline thrummed through his blood, adding to his power and agility. He fired off several stunners, adding some jinxes into the mix, catching the Death Eater on his left off guard. However, adrenaline alone was not all that gave Padfoot strength. It was the thought of his godson and Remus, of James and Lily that lent him the ferocity he needed. He wanted to be able to live freely, without war or the Ministry to distract him. He wanted to really be a full-time godfather to Harry, rather than the part-guardian, part-Order member on duty he was now.

The super-dementor screamed its horrible scream as it died, collapsing into a heap of tattered, black robes; Sirius' Challenger stalked off in search of more prey. Finishing off the third Death Eater, Sirius changed a look over his shoulder at Moony. The werewolf was fighting off a chimera, a super-dementor, and a Death Eater at the same time.

Sirius changed into Padfoot and bounded over, snapping his jaws closed over the Death Eater's wrist. He tasted blood as his canines pierced their skin, and he tore, causing them to scream in pain and drop their wand; just as he'd wanted.

He let go and snarled, biting and snapping at the Death Eater, who backed up, clutching their wrist. Sirius snapped the wand with his jaws, and pounced once more, this time going for the Death Eater's ankles. His jaws slammed shut around one of them, and the Death Eater yelled once again, trying to shake him loose. Padfoot only let go once the ankle tendon was torn, and the Death Eater collapsed onto the ground in pain.

Transforming back, Sirius wiped his mouth and spat out the remaining blood, then turned to face the next challenge.

"Black, look out!" The voice caused Sirius to turn just in time to see a killing curse headed straight for him. He fell to the ground, missing it by mere inches. He looked up and saw Snape dueling the Death Eater that had cast it, and Sirius charged over to help. He got the Death Eater in the back with a cutting hex, just as Snape got him with an internal-bleeding curse.

"Thanks," Sirius told him.

"Keep you attention on the fight," the former Death Eater replied with a smirk, "I can't save you all the time."

Sirius rolled his eyes but went to engage yet another Death Eater in battle. He scored a cut on his cheekbone, and another on his arm—this one favored knives rather than magic. _Alright,_ Padfoot thought, and got out his own pair. He lashed back, slicing them on the chest. They kicked out, but Sirius nimbly dodged to the side, and struck them on the temple with the hilt of his dagger; they dropped like a stone and he grinned.

A sharp pain sliced into the left side of his back, and Sirius fell to his knees, gasping in pain as he wrenched the dagger out. It had missed any major organs, but it hurt like hell. Only when his vision began to blur did he realize that it had been poisoned with something.

"Padfoot!" he heard Remus cry, rushing over to him.

"Dagger," he croaked in response, falling onto his uninjured side.

Remus jumped up and left for a moment, returning with Snape beside him. "Where's the kinfe?" the potions master asked gruffly as Remus defended the two of them from dementors.

Sirius grimly offered it to the person he liked least. Snape looked at it for a moment, then pulled something from his belt. "Drink this," he ordered.

Sirius tried, but found he couldn't move. Snape seemed to realize this and sneered. "Honestly Black, must I do everything for you? Lazy mutt." Sirius growled at him and made an effort to move his hand; a sharp pain lanced through him, and the dizziness got worse.

Snape uncorked the vial and held it to Padfoot's mouth, who then drank it; fighting not to spit it out. "Are you trying to poison me _again?_" he snarled after finished.

Snape smirked, "It worked, didn't it?" Sirius growled deep in his throat; but Snape was right, it had worked. "You may thank me later," the head Slytherin told him with a smirk, and stood to re-enter the battle.

_Greasy git,_ Padfoot thought, and stood, ready to fight once more.

* * *

Dom threw an explosion potion and ducked as it hit his target: a group of eight Death Eaters. Screams tore through the air as acid tore through flesh. He didn't regret it though, he'd seen what these scum had done in Britain, and if he let them live, they would only continue doing it.

After those particular screams ended, Dom came out and began to fire stunners and pain curses where ever he saw a Death Eater. He dragged the wounded body of Lenna back to the main camp, then took a dose of the transformation potion to take his friend's place. He yelled as his bones stretched painfully and new muscle formed. His skin stretched tight over his bones, and fur sprouted. The potion made it a tiny bit less painful than a normal transformation, but it was painful enough to stir the rage of the wolf within him.

Dom charged out back onto the field, slashing left and right at his enemies' ankles, chests, and wrists, causing plenty of them to fall to the ground. He remembered during the first war, when he'd been fighting side by side with Remus against a rather nasty group of trolls, and how they'd accidentally transformed early, thereby sprarking the idea of a potion that would do it on purpose.

His jaws snapped closed around the arm of a Death Eater as they prepared to cast, and he bit down hard. The bone snapped, leaving a bloody stump just a little below the man's elbow. The blood that filled Dom's mouth sent him into a frenzy, and he tackled his victim to the ground, slitting the wizard's throat. _Not now!_ He chastised himself, fighting to regain control over his own instincts.

He jerked himself off the body, his muzzle stained with crimson blood that smelled so good to his werewolf nose. Ignoring it, Dom leaped for another Death Eater's throat, knocking them over to the ground. He killed four more before taking a quick rest. His ears picked up the sound of someone shouting the incantation for the Killing Curse and he scanned the blood-covered battle field until he found the source: a Death Eater facing off with the young Bulgarian wizard Krum.

Dom dashed over, his paws carrying him over the bodies that littered the ground and the decaying logs that spotted the area with amazing speed. He knocked Krum over just as the curse was fired, and he felt the green bolt sizzle just above his spine, singeing his fur. Dom rolled off of Krum and knocked the Death Eater over, slicing at their throat. His hit was fatal, but he didn't complete it before something sharp jabbed between his ribs. He howled in pain as the silver blade pierced is heart, which then ceased to beat.

* * *

**Coming Up:**

The Second Half of the Battle

* * *


	32. Down to the Last Breath

**Chapter 30: Part II**

_(A/N: There will be an epilogue, however, it will be a story in its own way. Basically, if you go to my profile, you will find it. Each chapter will be from a different character's p.o.v, and at a different time period after the war. Enjoy the battle A. S. Leif)

* * *

_

**Review Response: **(I'm doing this now so it doesn't affect the ending)

**Therio:** _Thanks for pointing that out; and no, I don't sleep much, heh heh.

* * *

He carefully dodged a Killing Curse, then struck the Death Eater across the face with his claws, causing them to drop to the ground, either dead or unconscious; Godric hoped for the first. He didn't care for killing, but, like Rowena, he did it when it was necessary and right now, it was; for Harry's safety. _

Harry himself was just a little ways away, fending off super-dementors with his Challenger, and fighting a minotaur at the same time.

'_He is near,'_ the thought came from Sal, who was busy biting and staring at Death Eaters until they were dead. Godric knew Slytherin was the one least-affected by killing.

Godric nodded, '_Eyes open then, we don't want any nasty surprises.'_ He heard Helga and Rowena agree, but Salazar chose not to reply. _Figures,_ Godric thought, and continued with his rampage.

* * *

He dispatched several Death Eaters with ease, his daggers flashing in the light of the other spells. Kingsley checked over his left shoulder for Longbottom; the younger wizard was holding his own rather well. 

Returning his attention to the fight, Shacklebolt lunged in for another blow. The Death Eater fell as Kingsley stabbed him in the chest. As he circled a Minotaur, he was glad that the clouds successfully covered the sun; there was no chance his sight would be impaired by it. However, the clouds made it rather dark for a summer day, adding to the deathly gloom and painful atmosphere that was already soaking into everything around him.

He remembered the first war, and decided that this one was considerably better, as far as in the fewer amounts of slaughterings by You-Know-Who.

Ducking under a curse fired his way, Kingsley swept the legs out from under the Death Eater with his own, and then knocked him out by bringing the hilt of his dagger down on the side of their head. He sheathed one of his knives and unholstered his wand, ready to combine his two styles of fighting.

A quick knife slash followed by a stunner caused another Death Eater to fall, but then he was hit in the ankle with a bone breaker. His face grayed with pain as he accidentally put his weight on it. As he shifted his weight and prepared to heal himself, another bone-breaker hit him in the back. His ribs cracked, and he cried out in pain as one punctured a vital organ.

Someone caught him as he fell, and suddenly he was up in the air, in a dragon's claws; Neville. Kingsley's vision began to blur as he was set down gently onto the grass back at the main base area for his forces. Neville's round face came into his view, "Sir?" he whispered.

"You're in command, kid." He croaked, wincing slightly. "Good luck, you'll do fine; you're parents would've been proud." Kingsley's vision dimmed completely and he clasped Neville warmly on the shoulder before his hand fell gently to the damp grass.

* * *

His grey eyes scanned the area from behind the white mask that hid his worry and nervousness. His job for the Order was done, there would be no more spying after this. Yet he still was standing next to the Dark Lord, fighting anything that came near while the most evil wizard of the century searched for Harry. 

Draco desperately wished that he could somehow spare those who attacked him, but that would result in his own death by the hands of either another Death Eater or by the Dark Lord himself, and he had to make sure Harry would be safe when he and the Dark Lord met. So for now, he killed, knowing that his deeds here today would haunt him for the rest of his life, no matter how short or how long it turned out to be.

Already, in his nightmares, he saw his hands stained with blood, the blood of those he'd killed or harmed in order to prove his worth as a Death Eater. In his nightmares, he was unable to wash it off, for the blood kept coming. It was after these nightmares that Draco had decided to seek out help, to look for the Order of the Phoenix and try to redeem himself by spying on their behalf. He'd talked with Severus many times about the guilt he felt, and the older wizard was able to counsel him, having experienced the same thing.

That was another thing. Severus was more like a father to him than Lucius was. He dearly hoped that Severus would survive this war, though he knew the former spy did not expect to survive this day; such thoughts disturbed Draco.

"Draco." The low hiss came from the Dark Lord.

"Yes Milord?" he answered faithfully.

"Do you see Potter?"

Draco scanned the area quickly, "No Milord, though there seems to be a rather large defensive group to your left, Milord."

The Dark Lord nodded his satisfaction, and wandlessly threw the nearby Aurors aside, sending them crashing into the nearby boulders. Draco cringed inwardly as he heard their bones crack, and saw splotches of blood coloring the stones. _I will do all I can to help this stop,_ he vowed, _even if it means my life; please hurry Harry.

* * *

_

"Shit!" The MTI yelled.

"What?" she asked immediately, coming over.

"The satellite feed's been terminated! We can't see a damn thing that's going on!"

"Shit!" Tonks repeated, running a hand through her hair. The heat-sensing technology was vital to knowing if something was approaching.

"Can you reboot the system?" one of the M.D. members asked.

"No," the MTI answered, "It's linked to the government system. If we shut down, so will they; then they'll noticed something's up."

There were a series of curses that followed, Tonks' being the loudest. She knew the battle couldn't go perfectly, but she hadn't expected their entire advantage to be thrown out the window. Without the satellite readings, they were blind as to how the others were doing; the war could end and they wouldn't even know who'd won it. They couldn't even see if they were needed to help somewhere else.

"What about the communications?" she asked the MTI wizard, "Can you still talk to the other interpreters?"

The MTI tapped the keyboard for a moment, "It's fuzzy, but there's still a bit that I can understand; something's interfering with the overall frequency."

"Voldemort?" one of the Aurors suggested.

"Most likely," Tonks replied. "If he knows about the Hogwarts wards, he could probably create some of his own to make anything muggle-made to malfunction."

"Not good." Ron noted, still pale and shaken from his brother's death. His face was grim, and Tonks knew that this was something he'd never forget; war did that to people.

They waited anxiously, binding up the knocked-out Death Eaters, and sending some in small groups to Stone Hold; Tonks hoped that there would be enough room for them all. Once they'd transported their dead to a safer area, tem Bolt waited anxiously for someone to contact them; no messages were able to fully come through, despite the MTI's best efforts.

Tonks paced, not liking the awkward silence that had settled over the fortress. She knew they couldn't leave it unprotected; they needed to keep this place under their command. It was rather well defended, they could easily hold out large numbers of Death Eaters, which is probably why You-Know-Who chose to build his base here.

Suddenly, the air dropped several degrees in temperature, and Tonks noticed a faint frost on the trees as well as the fog her breath caused. "Dementors!" She shouted, alerting her Team. Instantly, the black-robed nightmares began to appear in large numbers and the patroni of team Bolt rushed out to meet them; but they were greatly outnumbered. Tonks began to sweat slightly despite the cold temperature: this would truly be a fight for not only their lives, but their souls.

* * *

Algor slayed Death Eater after Death Eater, his face an unreadable mask. In one hand he held a dagger, in the other, a wand. His return to the world of the living was not known outside of the Dark Lord, his Inner Circle, and the Order of the Phoenix. Nonetheless, Algor was determined to make up for at least a fraction of what he'd done in his first life. 

His main regret was the way he had treated his own children. As the first born, he'd taught Selena the ways he himself had learned from his own father. However, she had proved stubborn at first, not submissive like Severus had been. She'd actually fought back when he punished her, and that was when she made a deal with him; the memory was still fresh in his mind.

_She stared at him, anger and fear burning in her gaze. "I'll take the Mark," she said, surprising him, "But only if Severus doesn't have to; only if you stop punishing him…"_

In the end, Algor had agreed, and he'd begun to train Selena to become a Death Eater when she was only eleven years old. He had pushed her hard, not wanting to be disgraced, but also to push all the fear out of her. Only when it was too late did Algor realize the horrific path he'd set his daughter on. He'd realized it when the Dark Lord had cast the Imperious Curse on him, and ordered him to kill Helen, based on the suspicion that she was planning to betray Algor's Death Eater activities to the Ministry. And Algor had obeyed.

So when Lucius Sr. told him of Selena's betrayal to the pureblood line of Snape, Algor had jumped at the chance to free his daughter from the fate he'd pushed her towards. However, none of that mattered anymore, for when he had explained his actions, Selena had refused to believe it, continuing to both hate and fear him.

Looking over at Severus, Algor felt the bitter irony of it all. Severus had become a Death Eater because of Selena's banishment, just as Algor had become more faithful to the Dark Lord after killing his own wife. But now, now they were both traitors to the Dark Lord, both working to redeem themselves.

Algor continued to fight, using the Unforgivables rapidly on the other Death Eaters. Green light seemed to stream endlessly from his wand, and screams always followed. He saw one of the M.D. members fall, followed by the Death Eater who had her. Another scream made Algor want to turn away in mild disgust out of habit—it was Severus being subjected to the Cruciatus Curse.

Steeling himself, Algor threw his dagger at the Death Eater attacking his son; it stabbed the witch in the throat and she died with a gurgling scream. As Algor walked over to his son, an unseen Death Eater approached him from behind, a poisoned dagger in hand.

Algor pulled his son up, "Are you alright?" he asked gruffly.

"I'm fine; thank you."

Algor nodded, and gasped as the dagger plunged into his back, its poison spreading rapidly through his system. He slashed backwards with his own knife, killing his attacker. Algor fell to his knees, convulsing slightly as the poison did its work. His blood began to boil, and Algor noticed with distaste that it was a poison he himself had invented for the Dark Lord's use.

He looked at Severus, whose face was pale. "Forgive me," he croaked, feeling the life flee painfully from his body.

Severus hesitated, and Algor's spirit plunged for a moment into despair. "I forgive you." Severus said quietly, and Algor died, his last thought dwelling on the daughter he would always be a monster to.

* * *

Salazar swiped four trolls aside with his powerful tail, sinking his fangs into another that came within range. Only the stupidest of the foul creatures came within biting-distance of him, and only the quickest managed to get away. _And they say my bark is worse than my bite,_ he thought smugly. 

A faint buzz began to sound in his head, and Salazar closed his eyes. "_Voldemort is near,_" he hissed to Harry, who was surrounded by animagi.

"_Which direction?" _the young wizard asked in return.

Salazar took a moment to decide. "_North-east, about ten minutes away."_

"_We'll move in that direction then,"_ Harry said firmly. Though anyone else would see nothing other than grim determination on Harry's face, Salazar knew that the boy was nervous, and he didn't blame him in the least. He'd grown to have a certain amount of respect for the boy, more than he gave Godric anyway, and with that came the slight need to keep him safe.

Though the other founders often thought of him as a heartless wizard with a hate of mudbloods, he wasn't really like that all the time. Yes, he did not want mudbloods coming to the school, mainly because of what he had witnessed when truly alive. He still shuddered when he remembered the young wizards and witches being burned at the stake by their own parents for the magic in their blood. In Salazar's opinion, it was the muggles who were the monsters.

He tilted his head to the side, _'Voldemort has cast wards of his own,_' he told the others. '_The muggle equipment has been cancelled, and no one may apperate out of the area.'_

_'Not good,'_ Gryffindor said.

'_No, not at all,_' Salazar replied, surprising himself by agreeing with the irritable wizard.

* * *

Selena cursed when she heard that Voldemort had interfered with the satellite readings; they were as blind as worms out here. She sent out a scouting party, composed of five fully-transformed werewolves, and waited for them to come back and report. It took them several long minutes, and then a few more for the other W-Group members to translate their report. 

"Nothing just yet Cap'n." The head of the W-Group told her.

"Thank you," she said, and turned to Tylore. "If you could, get a team and spread out along the border to scout, and come back when there's a disturbance."

He nodded, bowing slightly and she bowed in return, then he left with nine other vampires.

Having nothing to do, Selena began to check on their losses. Three of the half-vampires had been killed, and two clansmen but no more; she had to wonder if the other teams had suffered large or small losses. _Damn Voldemort's wards,_ she grumbled. She couldn't even get in contact through the radios the MTI had to check up on the envoy group; she wanted to know how Remus, Severus, and Sirius were doing.

_I'll never forgive them if they die,_ she thought with grim humor. She also had to wonder about Harry, if he had found Voldemort, but, judging by the looks of things, the two had yet to meet. _We should have done more to help him when he actually does fight,_ she thought with irritation, _rather than just tell him what to do and leave him at it._ Personally, she hadn't wanted to be a Head Officer of any team, but her friendship with the vampires pushed her to being the best candidate for the team which had eighty percent of the clan in it.

"Professor?" Alex's voice drew Selena out of her thoughts and she walked over.

"Yes?"

"We're getting a slight reading from the fortress." The young witch told her, "They've taken it, but dementors are arriving—lots of them."

"Did they ask for back up?" Selena asked.

Alex shook her head. "No."

Now she had a debate: go and check it out, or stay put and wait for more trouble to arrive. The fortress was a long ways away, in another country even… "We have to stay," Selena decided aloud. "We can't be absent for long, Voldemort might try surrounding a nearby team while we're gone." Alex nodded to show she understood, and Selena resumed her pacing.

* * *

His breath hitched when he saw Bellatrix Lestrange among a nearby group of Death Eaters; he would never forget her taunting gaze from two years ago. Neville let out a roar as he changed into dragon shape, and charged straight for her. She screeched as she jumped out of the way, firing off the Cruciatus as she did so. 

The curse felt like no more than a simple stinging hex to Neville, and he charged again, swatting everyone away with his wings and claws as sharp as the daggers some of the warlocks carried. He could smell the fear on Bellatrix, and he began to taunt her, just as she had him about his parents.

He slashed at her, purposely only drawing small amounts of blood as he circled her. He swooped at her from above, charged her from the side, and snapped at her with his long jaws from all angles. All her curses had little effect, as Neville was careful to keep his eyes protected.

Finally, he whacked her to the side, where she crumpled against a boulder; still alive, but only just. Neville became human once more and glared at her. "Not fun, is it?" he growled, "You'll pay for what you did to my parents."

Any look of fear she'd had before vanished, and she sneered at him, a maniac glint in her eyes. "Going to kill me little Longbottom? Going to kill the evil witch who played with your parents?"

Neville's eyes gained the coldest look they ever had; he doubted he'd ever had been so full of anger, so full of bitter hate. It was because of this woman that he had never truly known his parents. It was because of her that he'd grown up afraid of many things. He got out his wand and pointed it at her. "As a matter of fact, I am." He said harshly.

She sneered as he faltered, "I knew you were such a baby, you can't even cast a curse you're so afraid." Bellatrix laughed. "Your parents were hardly any braver than you, I suppose it runs in you cowardly blood. The Dark Lord will make sure that you live to see the day his kills your parents; perhaps he'll even toy with them some more while you watch." Her smile widened cruelly, "I daresay you'll be used to it by then, won't-"

Her words stopped and her eyes widened as a flash of green light came out of Neville's wand, and a look of horror spread across and her face and she screamed as the Killing Curse took affect.

_That one's for you,_ Neville thought to his parents, _now I'll never have to do it again; you're avenged.

* * *

_

Voldemort heard the familiar scream of Bella off to his right as the bright green flash of the Killing Curse lit up the area once more. Turning his head, he saw a young wizard standing near the faithful Death Eater's body. He motioned for his guard of Death Eaters to follow, and stalked over, Nagini slithering beside him. "_Crucio_," he hissed, and the boy fell to his knees with a scream.

His Death Eaters laughed as the torture went on. Voldemort stopped it for a moment and peered with mock curiosity at the boy's sweating and trembling face. "Well, well, Mr. Longbottom, is it not?" The wizard had the nerve to glare at the Dark Lord and spit at the ground on his feet. Voldemort snarled and kicked the boy, causing another yell of pain. Nagini slithered hungrily near the boy, hissing until he paled.

"Where is Potter?" Voldemort asked him coldly.

Longbottom merely continued to glare, "H-he'll beat you, you sc-scumbag."

Voldemort chuckled, "He has already lost, as have you." Raising his wand, Voldemort pointed it at the boy and hissed, "_Avada Kadavra_." The young wizard screamed as the light hit him, and the Death Eaters laughed.

"VOLDEMORT!"

The Dark Lord turned around as his Death Eaters were shoved away by wind: Harry Potter had decided to come out of hiding at last.

* * *

Harry's eyes blazed as he stared at the wizard who had just killed one of his friends right in front of him. His aura was flaring brighter than ever before, causing the dark creatures nearby to recoil. He kept the Death Eaters at bay with wind then hissed, "_Parsolanz Lidesh._" An electric blue dome surrounded the Death Eaters, locking them in place; not once did Harry's eyes stray from Voldemort's blood-colored ones. 

The founders spread out, forming a line behind Harry in their magical animagus forms; Voldemort's eyes widened slightly. "I want you to know Voldemort," Harry began coldly; "This will end today. One of us will die: _For neither can live while the other survives_."

"The prophecy," Voldemort hissed. Harry nodded, then the Dark Lord chuckled, shaking his head. "And all this time, I had wondered if I would be ripped from my body, should I try to destroy you once more." He inclined his head with a smile, "Enjoy your last day as the Boy-Who-Lived, Harry—_avada kadavra!_"

Harry jumped to the side, and yelled, "_Crucio!"_ the Unforgivable hit Voldemort and he opened his mouth in a silent scream, and then he jerked out of the effect.

"Not bad," he said coldly, and the duel continued once more.

Harry kept dodging the killing curse which Voldemort fired at him, and returned with curses of his own. He fired many Parsloz bone-breakers, but they missed. Voldemort began to use Parsloz as well, switching from the Unforgivables to even more painful forms used for torture. Harry dodged them all, using his animagus forms. As a last resort, he pushed himself into the air with wind, escaping a dark violet curse.

He saw Godric attacking Nagini, who had been trying to sneak up and bite Harry. Silently, Harry thanked the founder and returned his attention on the duel.

Then, their wands met.

The phoenix song rose into the air as they were linked once again by a golden beam. The gold dome began to form, and their feet lifted slightly from the ground. Harry put half of his mind into keeping the connection, and another part into reaching for his second wand. "_Sanctus!"_ he shouted in Parsletongue and his blazing light shield erupted from his second wand, multiplied tenfold in power as it enveloped them; there would be no escaping this battle.

However, his shield also closed out the escorts that had come with Harry, along with the founders; he couldn't risk them getting hurt in this fight. The founders shouted out in protest, but Harry puta silencing charm on his shield, blocking out their voices, despite the twisting of his heart he felt at that moment. He would not let them be killed like Neville.

He then broke the connection before the echoes could appear, and they both tumbled to the ground, sweat dotting their brows. Harry rolled to his feet, both wands at the ready. "_Rovenis Staveno_," he whispered, and his regular wand twisted into Rowena's staff. He fired a Parsloz cutting hex which managed to hit the Dark Lord on his cheek.

Harry lost no time in the short period Voldemort was halted in surprise. He shot multiple draining-hexes, dodging the curses Voldemort shot in return. They exchanged spells for a long time, Harry being hit by many pain curses, and Voldemort by the same, though they seemed to have less of an effect on him.

Harry occasionally lashed out with fire or lightning, distracting Voldemort for a moment with the flames on his robes. As Voldemort was dousing himself, Harry took the moment to cast a complex illusion charm. He steadily began to chant the incantation Salazar had told him, with Spyridon hissing the same words. It was one of the spells that required a serpentine assistant, and Harry slowly began to feel the change. Mirror images of himself appeared all around Voldemort, then began to move; Voldemort soon lost track of the real Harry.

Tallon once again used the elements to his advantage, liquefying the ground beneath Voldemort, distracting him further. Frustrated, the Dark Lord screeched, "_Nefarton!_" Harry's copies vanished, and he had to dodge a Killing Curse once more. He kept moving while trying to catch, trying to keep Voldemort turning to keep Harry in sight.

"You will not win," Voldemort hissed, launching a series of fireball curses Harry caused them to swerve away and back towards Voldemort, singeing the Dark Lord once more.

Harry cast a Parsloz shield around himself then threw back his head and allowed himself to transform. He felt himself first become a snake, then sprout arms and legs, just like Splikvin had done before and taught him a few days ago. Opening his eyes, which were now only emerald green orbs, Harry lunged.

Voldemort jumped out of the way, firing a cutting hex at Harry's back. Tallon yelled in fury and pain, feeling it slice through his tough scales. It didn't bleed much, but sent the adrenaline rushing through him. He swerved and lashed out at Voldemort with his clawed hands. He scored a hit on Voldemort's arm and chest, leaving deep gashes. The Dark Lord hissed something and Harry was thrown backwards into the shield that surrounded them.

He rolled to his feet, barely escaping an unforgivable. The shadows leapt up at Harry's command, and began to swamp Voldemort. He fought back with a flaming rope that formed the shape of a snake, but the shadows continued to attack. Harry hid himself in the growing darkness, stalking around to the back of Voldemort. He could feel the blood running down his back, dripping slowly onto the already damp grass. Tallon shoved a corpse aside, eyes searching the leaping shadows for Voldemort.

Harry returned to normal, his wands returning to his hands now that he was human again, and he muttered, "_Oitar_" A small bar appeared in his mind, telling him how much energy Voldemort had left—about half. Harry didn't need the charm to tell that he was even lower; his breath came in quiet, but ragged gasps, turned that way from his constant use of the elements. "_Salithren Excalibera,"_ he murmured, and lunged into the shadows as the sword appeared.

Voldemort screeched and lashed out with one of his own knives, slicing Harry's chest with a shallow cut. Ducking back into the shadows, Harry quickly grabbed a potion from his belt and drank it; the poison's effect was lost on him. Taking his momentary break, Harry quickly drank a pepper-up potion, giving him the boost of energy he needed to keep going; Voldemort's energy level was still even.

As Harry cast multiple curses into the shadows, sweat began to drip into his eyes. They distracted him for a moment, but that was all Voldemort needed. The Dark Lord banished the shadows with a strong light spell, one Harry hadn't thought he would ever use, and attacked Tallon once more.

Harry gasped in pain from the Parsloz Cruciatus, and fell to the ground, rolling out of the way of the next curse. He scrambled to his feet, transforming into his chimera form; Spyridon was still tightly wrapped around his wrist, hissing his part of the ritual. Harry lunged and feinted, slashing at Voldemort with claws and tail. Voldemort hissed something, and Salazar's sword appeared in his hand, and he attacked Harry with new ferocity. Tallon snarled as the blade slashed across his left wing, and bit into his flank. Whipping his tail around, he caught Voldemort at the knees and sent the Dark Lord tumbling unceremoniously backwards into the shield.

_'I am finissshed, Tallon.'_ Spyridon hissed quietly so Voldemort wouldn't hear.

Taking his que, Harry transformed back and checked Voldemort's energy: it was down to a fourth, just like Harry's. _I don't know if I can do this,_ Harry thought desperately, creating a wall of lightning around him to keep Voldemort from distracting him as he began to etch the proper runes into the air.

Harry felt his energy drain as the spell took form. Because he was casting it on a living thing, he couldn't just say the incantation like he had at Durmstrang. Sweat dripped down his face and back while Voldemort harassed his protection. "Coward," the Dark Lord hissed. Harry wiped his brow and continued, his voice hoarse after all the hours of spell-casting and yells of sudden pain.

He chanted the last syllable, and the bright yellow runes flashed gold, then began to surround Voldemort. Harry fell to his knees, coughing blood as his vision blurred and his limbs grew heavy and stiff. He wouldn't survive to finish the spell, not on his own, and he'd locked everyone else out…

Voldemort began to screech and yell in anger as the runes melted into him, and a sharp, green mist began to flow out. He writhed in pain as he fought but the runes were merciless, Harry urging them on with the last of his energy; neither the Dark Lord nor the Boy-Who-Lived had noticed the rat that lay in wait throughout the entire duel. Peter Pettigrew transformed back into his normal self, with a sharp dagger in his silver hand. He was trembling, but his eyes were firm with resolve. Harry fell onto his back, feeding the spell with the small bit of life force he had left, and saw the traitor standing over him. "No," he groaned, his spell faltering slightly.

"I'm sorry," Wormtail said softly, and knelt next to Harry. Harry closed his eyes, which were growing darker by the second, and waited for the fatal strike that would free him from his burden, that would prove the prophecy to be a lie, that would allow him to finally be with his parents again...

Suddenly, he felt a hand on his forehead, wet and warm with Peter's blood. Pettigrew whispered an incantation, and Harry felt energy flood into him. In a quiet, raspy voice, Wormtail finished transferring his life energy to Harry. "I now repay the life-debt which I owe, and beg forgiveness for what I've done." Harry jerked his eyes open, to find Wormtail limp beside him. Harry was full to the brim with energy, and he got to his feet. "I forgive you," he whispered to the dead animagus, who had once been his father's friend. Turning his hard emerald gaze back to Voldemort, he regripped his wands.

"Finish it," Voldemort spat, still fighting the runes which melted into him without an ounce of leniency, "Kill me as you must."

Harry shook his head, "I will not become a murder." He said firmly, the Dark Lord's eyes widened in either pain or surprise, Harry didn't know which. "The prophecy says I have the power to destroy you, a power you know not. Voldemort shall die, just as Tom Riddle died when you were born."

Voldemort hissed in anger as Harry crossed his wands and pointed them at Voldemort as he began to finish the ritual. "_Evomer tai cigam don swolf guorht yht luos dan vér ot eb denruter ot don morf ecnehw ti emac_." At the same time, Spyridon wound himself around the two wands, hissing his own part. "_Ember ay sangue, phasma ay magi; aeternus eternus victus_."

The green mist around Voldemort began to glow brighter, changing into other colors as it separated. The Dark Lord himself was frozen in place, unable to move as his magic was bled out of him, to be returned to the world where it had come from. From Harry's wands came a gold and silver light, which enveloped Voldemort, twisting until he began to shift.

His skin gained more color, his eyes faded to a sharp, but blank grey. A normal, human nose took the place of the snake-like slits that had been there before. Jet-black hair sprouted from his head, and his body shrank until it was that of a young teenager's. As the freed magic dissipated, the shield that had surrounded the two duelers began to disappear, and the light surrounding the older wizard dimmed until it was gone.

Harry gasped for breath, looking down at the thirteen-year old before him. The Dark Lord Voldemort was dead, and Tom Marvolo Riddle was alive once more, as a magicless being with no recollection of his life at all.

The prophecy had been fulfilled, and Harry collapsed simultaneously with Riddle onto the blood and sweat-dampened grass.

* * *

All across the body-littered battle field, Death Eaters suddenly began to fall to their knees as the Marks they bore burst into green flames which rose into the air and vanished, leaving the Death Eaters' forearms bare of any sign whatsoever. 

Those fighting on the side of the Light erupted into cheers as they realized what had happened: Voldemort had been defeated.

The Dark creatures fled in silence, vanishing into the woods miles away, but their foes did not chase after them.

The soldiers hollered and yelled in triumph, werewolves howled at the cloudy sky as Vampires led out victorious cries. Dragons spurt fire in celebration, wizards and witches fell to their knees; some wept openly, in both mourning for those lost and for the freedom that had come to their world at last.

In the southern area of the largebattlefield, a black werewolf sprinted towards the base site of team Venom, with his mind on one person: his sister.

He arrived at last at the base, where he morphed back into human and hurriedly looked around. "Where is Selena?" he demanded.

The Second Head Officer, Alex, answered quietly, "I haven't seen her since the last wave of attacks."

Severus paled and ran out onto the field, his eyes fearfully scanning the mass of bodies that were everywhere. A cold wind blew suddenly across the grassy plain, and a sinking feeling grew in his soul. "Point me," he whispered, thinking of his sister. To his relief, his wand pointed to the east, and Severus followed it for fifteen minutes.

He dropped his wand when he saw her lying in the middle of a ring of dead chimeras, Minotaurs, and Death Eaters. Tylore lay a few feet from to her, impaled by one of the Minotaur's spears. Severus skidded over to her, landing on his knees. There was a large bite mark on Selena's wand arm, and a deep gash on her leg. "Selena," he whispered, gently lifting her head; she didn't answer him.

"Selena," he repeated, louder this time. Her eyes were closed, and her skin was pale. "Selena! _Wake up dammit_!" His shoulders shook with suppressed emotions, but he couldn't stop bitter tears from forming. Severus wiped the blood off her cheek, fighting the sadness that threatened to overwhelm him. "You can't leave now!" he yelled, hopelessness and exhaustion fueling his rage at her. He shook her forcefully, then stopped; it would do no good for either of them.

Severus closed his eyes, stopping the tears that threatened to spill. A small groan reached his ears.

His eyes snapped back open, "Selena?" he called, his throat tightening. "Please, wake up."

Selena's eyes opened a tiny bit, "S-Sev?" she croaked, "I'm… tired."

"You can rest later," he replied desperately, "Just, not yet; please."

Her eyes closed briefly, "Why?"

"I need you to stay here," Severus answered, "Please, stay awake; you own me that much, after leaving me with those idiotic Marauders for seventeen years."

"You're such a Slytherin," she grumbled with a tiny smile. "I'll stay awake."

Severus quickly closed the wounds on her leg and arm, then picked her up. Cradling her head against his shoulder, Severus began to walk back to the base, ready to go home as a free man.

* * *

Several miles north, a wolf and a dog ran as fast as they could to the area where they had seen the glowing shield, praying silently for the Boy-Who-Lived. They reached the area, and found Harry surrounded by the founders, who were keeping a careful eye on the two living humans. 

"Harry?" Sirius rasped, eyes filling with tears.

"He is alive," Rowena told him, a smile on her face. The two remaining Marauders rushed to the young hero's side, allowing tears of happiness to flow freely down their cheeks, which had been pale with worry. Dumbledore appeared a moment later, smiling as he cried, looking at the wizard whose determination and good-will had allowed him to survive.

* * *

There were many losses on both sides, once the battle field was cleaned and purified of death. Voldemort's army had little remaining, and those who had been in it either came out from under the Imperious curse, or fled from the magical world. The losses on the side of Light was great. Half of the people at Voldemort's base had fallen victim to the dementors and Death Eaters, Tonks among them. Ninety-four of the Russian soldiers had perished, along with three of the Animagus Squads, one D.M. team, two Bulgarian Auror squads, nine of the giants, eighteen vampires, three members of the V-Group, and fourty-seven werewolves. 

Those of the Order who had died were buried at Godric's Hollow, which had become the official burial ground. There was a monument constructed there as well, dedicated to all who had fought at the Battle of Twilight, as it was called. The monument was a fountain which showed the reflections of all the fallen, whether they were from the Order or not. On a silver plaque was a poem:

**Through light and through dark,**

**All both take is a single spark**

**To be lit or be doused,**

**When fate makes its mark.**

Every single person who participated in the battle recieved an Order of Merlin from the British Ministry. A second monument was erected at the Ministry building in London: a marble wall with plaques which had all the names of anyone who had served in the first war, The War of Shadowed Endings, against Voldemort.

Harry himself took several days to recover, and his spell had caused him to age a year or two in appearance. As soon as he was out of the hospital and able to dodge Poppy's care,he attended the funerals for all of the Order members that had fallen: Kingsley, Tonks, Neville, McGonagall, Dung, Percy, and even Algor's funeral. He also went to the funerals of Dom, Tylore, and those of the people who had guarded him while he searched for Voldemort. Tom Marvolo Riddle himself was adopted by a loving muggle family and had his memory modified so he would think he had always lived with them, though the Ministry was keeping an eye on young Tom, to ensure his magic and/or real memories did not return; Harry doubted it would, but let them do it anyway.

Relief was spread throughout the globe, starting at Britain and reaching across the oceans to the foreign countries, even as they mourned those who had died or lost their souls in brave service.

The war was finally over, and the Age of True Light had begun.

_**THE END

* * *

**_

_Wow.Three books, one story, and not a bad ending, in my opinion; heh, Iactually finished it before Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince came out! Make sure to read the Epilogue, which should be up either tomorrow or in the next couple of days. I hope you all enjoyed the story, but I would like to thank those who were with me from Red Bolt of Lightning, to the grand finale: HeWhoComesWithTheDawn, TuxedoMac, Andromeda's Kitty, bandgsecurtiyaw, SeekterTLK, angelXofXdeath, and especially IcyTears a.k.a. Pyschic Lunar, who I believe submitted the most reviews, and was rather amusing in many of them, lol. Naturally, I want to thank **all** reviewers for putting the time and effort to read the story, and not fall asleep while doing so -_grin_- I wish you all luck in your own writing and story-hunting, and again ask that you keep a look out for the Epilogue! _

_Yours truly, now, tomorrow, and for a long, long time:_

—_A. S. Leif

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_


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